The National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) on Tuesday, July 18 was forced to respond after a widely circulated video depicted a group of Kenyans visibly impaired after consuming an unidentified substance.
In the video which went viral, the youth exhibited several symptoms including; drowsiness, sedation and confusion. The young men seemed to be in zombie state and had trouble standing up.
In response to the incident, the agency said it had embarked on a fact finding mission and was coordinating all responsible agencies with a view to get to the bottom of the issue.
"The authority is currently engaging the leadership in county governments where where the substance is alleged to be available so as to adopt a one government approach," the authority said.
Kenyans on Twitter speculated that the youth were from Mombasa County and were under the influence on Fentanyl.
A section of Kenyans raised concerns over the prevalence of drug consumption at the Coast and called for quick government intervention.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke earlier on Tuesday, July 18th, NACADA Communications Director, Simon Mwangi regretted that drug and substance abuse still remains a challenge especially among Kenyan youth.
"The said videos are portraying a very bad situation and while we are still looking into the matter and working with other government agencies, this is not a practice we can encourage,” Mwangi stated.
NACADA also requested Kenyans to share any relevant information they have about the persons captured in the video with the agency.
To ensure quality treatment and rehabilitation services to persons with substance use problems, NACADA inspects treatment and rehabilitation facilities before issuing accreditation certificates.
All persons admitted to these facilities are rehabilitated to ensure they recover and abstain from drug abuse.
