Youth have been urged to stay away from abusing drugs in order to live meaningful lives.

This statement was made on Thursday during activities to mark the International Day against drug abuse in Rubavu District, Western Province.

"Drug abuse is not only bad for your health, but has potential to lead to domestic violence and dropping out of school,” said Caritas Mukandasira, the governor of Western Province .

This development follows  statistics from Kigali Health Institute, which indicated that more than 50 per cent of the youth between 14 and 35 years of age have consumed one or more kinds of drugs.

Mukandasira  noted that drugs worth  Rwf30 million had been destroyed on  the eve of marking the day .  

 The head CID department, Assistant Commissioner of Police Theos Badege, said police was committed to fighting drugs through sensitisation and aspects like arrest of culprits only comes in as a last resort .

He noted that issues like drug  abuse if not checked could inspire other crimes like thuggery, murder and rape. 

"Fighting drugs is a concerted effort. We call upon the public to report any cases related  to drug use or dealing,” he said. 

The Minister for Internal Security, Fazil Musa Harerimana,   said: "Statistics at Ndera Mental Hospital, Kigali, show that 11 per cent of the patients registered have ailments related to drug abuse.”

"I was a drug addict for about three years, but spent all the time on road sides and hurling insults to strangers,” confessed Eugene Niyitegeka, a resident of Gisenyi Sector.

 Dr Yvonne Kayiteshonga, the head of mental division at Rwanda Biomedical Centre, said one young man or woman out of every 13 is alcohol-dependent.

The youth represent 40 per cent, and in urban areas where the problem is thought to be more rampant, the youth population is recorded at 53 per cent, according to the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda.

The United Nations office on drugs and crime (UNODC), estimates that every year, 210 million people use illicit drugs with almost 200,000 of them dying annually.