The youth of Akomadan and neighbouring villages in the Offinso North District of the Ashanti region are said to be engaging in massive abuse of a pain reliever called Tramadol.

The drug, popularly known among users as ‘Tramol’, is used for treating moderate to severe pain. However, it is being used by the youth in Akomadan and its environs as an aphrodisiac for sexual activities, according to Kumasi-based journalist Nana Boatemaa.

She told Bright Kwesi Asempa on the Onua FM morning show “Yen Nsem Pa” on Thursday that while some youth use the drug as energy booster for weeding on their farms and studying, majority however use it for sexual activities.

She added that, the drug which is sometimes given to animals, particularly Donkeys and Horses to enhance their performance, has become a sexual enhancement drug for the youth, which she noted is having a serious effect on them. She said “elders in the village have tried everything humanely possible to educate the youth on the dangers of the Tramodol abuse, but these youth have remained adamant.

And when we go out to talk to them, the ladies especially, tells us that the drug helps their boyfriends to satisfy them sexually”.

Miss Boatemaa further revealed that what is scary about the drug abuse is even children as young as 12 years are engaging in it because it is affordable: sold as low as 5 cedis.

Meanwhile, Kojo, a listener from Koforidua shared his experience, saying that “some even roast the drug before taking it and this get them more intoxicated”. He said two of his friends who abused the drug had one losing his life and the other experiencing a convulsion.

Bismarck, another listener from Tema, also narrated his ordeal when he used the drug some time ago. He explained, the drug which he bought from a street hawker got him dizzy for about two days, making it difficult for him to work, and this made him to confront the hawker to learn more about the effect of the drug she had sold to him.

However, Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye, Member of Parliament for Ledzokuku constituency, a medical doctor by profession, stated that Tramadol is a very effective drug, even more than Bluefin and Dichlone, which is supposed to be sold strictly based on prescriptions, but the rules governing the sale of drugs in the country are a bit lax coupled with the fact that there are no doctors in most of the villages to prescribe the drug hence, its abuse in the villages and in some cases in the cities.

He further added that when the drug is mixed with alcohol it damages the liver of the user in the long run, resulting in sexual weakness. He said his research indicates that over 3.5 million people across the world use Tramadol for non-medical purpose.