Representative Thomas Goshua of district #5 in Grand Bassa County said he has submitted to plenary through the Speaker of the House of Representatives Hon. Dr. Chambers a bill entitled: “An Act to amend Chapter 14 of the Drug and Substance Law of Liberia, under the title offenses involving danger to a person, by adding thereto subchapter (E) of the amended Act of 2014 of the Drug and Substance Law of Liberia.
According to the lawmaker of the county of Grand Bassa, twenty-five of his colleagues co-signed the communication which was submitted to the plenary on Tuesday, July 20, 2021.
He stated that his actions in introducing the bill were intended to respond to the growing public outcry for a solution to the public health problem.
He also noted that there has been a public outcry about the importation, sale and use of drugs across the country. Declaring that the proliferation of drug-related activities led his office to launch an investigation in 2019 together with the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA).
According to him, findings from the investigation point to the law as a major negative contributing factor.
He is quoted as saying “we begun the amendment process as of 2019. The reform process has gone through a series of stakeholders consultations and dialogues, thus finally producing a final draft, which has gone through legal scrutiny as well.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Goshua also disclosed that the amended law was debated on Tuesday July 20, 2021 in plenary and was sent to committee rooms for scrutiny. He said the Judiciary, National Security, Health and Gender committees are due to report back to the plenary in two weeks.
The legislator of the county of Grand Bassa has furthermore assured the population that if it is passed in the lower house, it will be sent to the Senate for concurrence. Noting that once the Senate is in agreement, it will be signed by the President for printing into hand bill.
At the same time he named the composition of the current amended law stating that the current law seeks to penalize drug dealers who are importing, dealing, and retailing drugs in Liberia, while providing rehabilitation opportunity for disadvantage Liberians.
He noted that it provides penalties for substance abuse offenders who commit repeated offenses over the five-year period.
