Malik Basintale, Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Youth Employment Agency (YEA), has stated that the fight against drug abuse is as important as combating illicit mining.

He made this call at the official press launch of the "Red Means Stop" campaign on March 26, 2025, in Accra.

In a video shared on his ‘X’ account, Basintale indicated that the new trend the devil is using to distract the youth is the use of opioids and some other derivatives of hard drugs.

“The new trend the devil is using to distract the youth is the use of hard drugs. That is why the fight against hard drugs are as important as the fight against illegal mining,” he said.

He added that these pills come in various colours, with the latest derivative having a dominant red colour, hence termed as ‘red’ by patrons.

“We are taking the fight against drugs to the basics. The fundamental traffic education employed red means stop, yellow means get ready, and green mean go.

“That is not to say that green pills mean go ahead and use them. ‘Red’ however, is very devastating and it’s the new trend in town. So, we want to say that patronage of the drug called ‘red’ must stop,” he said.

He indicated that in the past, drugs like tramadol, phenol, some drugs nicknamed ‘shocker’ and ‘bush’ were popular, but experts have identified the latest one as an opioid called ‘red’.

He assured that he is taking steps with relevant stakeholders to curb the use of the highly-addictive drug among the youth.

Watch video below:

CEO Of Youth Employment Agency@malik_basintale speaks at the official press launch of the "Red Means Stop" campaign happening now at the Marriot Hotel, Accra.#ameyawtv pic.twitter.com/mVtcjiZgjH

— AmeyawTV (@AmeyawTV) March 26, 2025