Here is a farewell letter from a 19-year old boy – a true story, which occurred in a Sao Paulo hospital, in Brazil:

I think that in this World nobody has tried to describe his own cemetery.  I don’t know how my father is going to take this, but I need all my strength while there is still time……….. You know, dad, it is time for you to know the truth you never suspected.

Drugs have killed me, I met my murderer at the age of 15 through an elegantly dressed citizen who introduced me to my future murderer: drugs.   I tried to refuse but the citizen shook my pride, saying I wasn’t a man.  I entered the world of drugs.

At first it was dreamland, then torture, darkness; I couldn’t do anything without drugs. Then came the lack of air, fear, hallucinations and soon afterwards, the euphoria of the needle. My inseparable friends, drugs kept smiling and smiling! You know, when one begins, one finds everything ridiculous and very funny. I even found GOD ridiculous.

Today in my hospital bed, I recognise that GOD is more important than anything in the world. Dad, I am 19, and I know I don’t have the slightest chance of living. It is too late for me, but I have one last request to make to you: show this letter to all young people you know. Tell them that at the door of every school, or every faculty course, any place, there is always an elegantly-dressed and smooth-talking man who-will show them the murderous and destructive future of their lives and lead them to insanity and death, like he did to me…

After writing this letter the young man died.

It is sad to state that despite the numerous interventions by well-meaning government institutions, establishments and individuals to deter the citizen from escaping the wanton destruction of drugs, most of our youth, including celebrities made up of sportsmen/women, songsters and songstresses, actors and actresses, have thrown caution to the wind and are getting destroyed each passing day. Some Ghanaian musicians tend to take to fast living and are always under the influence of drugs.

Many promising lives have been cut short because of drugs. Michael Jackson, Kiiki Gyan and a host of their kind have succumbed to drugs making nonsense of their achievements. Some promising actors and musicians who spoke to me on condition of anonymity confessed they could not reach high performance in their areas of operation without the aid of drugs or harmful substances. Sad indeed!

Day in, day out our media houses have been carrying news about potential celebrities being sent to healing facilities including hospitals, psychiatric hospitals and rehabilitation centres. They are perishing and continually calling for rescue.

Drugs kill – drugs will send a celebrity finally into a mental stupor where he/she can no longer perform creditably. There is rarely a second chance! Drugs take away potentialities that users can never get back. What then can society do to put a halt to the onslaught of the menace of drugs.

Obviously, nobody is interested in having, in future, a homeland of drugged, drunken and frustrated people. Our desire is for a generation, a civilization of honored, good-aimed and peace, truth and justice-loving men, women and young children.

We should never give up on those who have fallen victim to drugs. There is need for sustained education by parents, school authorities, church groups, the mosque, peers, Musician Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), Ministry of Youth and Sports, the National Youth Council and the Media. Medical personnel and establishments should continually harp on the dangers of drug abuse so that it will deter users from falling prey to its associated havoc.

Even if drug enhances performances of celebrities, it will surely do more harm than good to them in the long run. Personally, I do not see drug as a substance that enhances performance but rather, cuts down the life span of performance…

The high life of celebrities comes with drugs. However, together we can make their drug behavior unacceptable. How many of our best talents do we have to lose to drugs in this world? Let’s say NO to the celebrity drug culture gaining grounds in Ghana.