Youth in Techiman turning to glue sniffing to cope with unemployment

“We put the glue inside an empty sachet of water and sniff it,” says Hope, not his real name. “The region is now developing so we don’t have enough companies around for them to employ workers.”

For Hope and a number of the youth in Techiman, in the Bono East region of Ghana, a few cedis worth of glue- an adhesive substance used to stick material together makes the day less stressful and reduce hunger pangs.

It’s a cheaper alternative to alternating the state of their minds than marijuana or cocaine.

Many youths addicted to this potentially poisonous substance blame their dependence on the lack of employment opportunities in the region. To the addicts, the way to while away time and forget about their worries and feel good is to get high.

Destiny, also not his real name was lured into this habit by a friend who was supposed to help him learn a skill.

“ A senior apprentice taught me how to sniff. After work, we go to the bush,” the 22-year-old told Tv3’s Godwin Asidiba.  “I was young then. There are no jobs in this town, so when I wake up in the morning, I buy the glue and wait till I find a job.”

Destiny’s mother who seems to be at her wits’ end with her son’s addiction says she has done everything possible to make sure her son learns masonry skills so he can find a job and hopefully quit the addiction but Destiny insists “There are other ways to make money.”

She is hoping for a miracle.

Sniffing Glue according to WebMD is a form of inhalant abuse that can have dire effects on one’s health. There are several ways these substances are consumed. Some sniff, huff, spray or inhale. 

The effect of sniffing glue can be dire according to Dr. Derrick Oppong a clinical psychologist.

“That intense period of the high can be very stimulating but because it is short-lived people quickly get addicted to it.  Problems it can lead to are Arithma…it can also damage the  brain cells and sometimes it can also lead to death.”

Glue is not the only inhalant used for getting high. Other substances such as nail polish, paint thinners, and shoe polish are some of the cheap items people use to alter their state of mind.

The Member of Parliament for Techiman North, Elizabeth Ofusu Agyare believes that when the youth are gainfully employed, the drug addiction will reduce.

“People in Techiman North are hard-working so, as there is something for them to do they will do it to the best of their ability.  I don’t see anywhere in Ghana that the youth are finding work to do, so it’s a general bad governance issue.”

Fighting any form of addiction is an uphill task one that addicts cannot do alone. But in Ghana the cost of mental health treatment of any form is expensive.  Dr, Pinamang Appau CEO of the Mental Health Authority says they have found alternate ways to support patients in their fight to overcome addiction.

“What we’ve started introducing is what we call the OPD rehabilitation,” she said. “The person does not need to stay within the facility so the person has a program that the person is following but it’s on outpatient bases.”

Watch full documentary below