Drugs are one of society’s most threatening menaces, and one of Government’s biggest challenges. A ‘drug’, for the purposes of the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act 1992 means any substance listed in schedules attached to the Act; or, any plant (including portion of a plant) from which such a substance can be manufactured. The list includes many drugs not commonly known. These are all referred to as ‘dependence-producing substances’. Some, such as cocaine, morphine and opium (th

Written by Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of Nigeria and Kgalema Motlanthe, former President of South Africa. Both are members of Global Commission on Drug Policy. Mpho Boshielo smokes a mixture of heroin and dagga in Soweto, South Africa. © Frank Trimbos/REDUX-REA When we were Presidents of Nigeria and South Africa – the largest economies on the continent – our Administrations dreamt of many things. One in particular was to create drug-free societies. We were wrong.