07/13/2026
DRUG: THE WORST ENEMY OF LIBERIA
An Open Letter to the National Legislature
By D. Kruah, Pascal
I am writing this not as a politician, not as an activist, but as a Liberian student who wants to see his country grow. I have walked through communities in Monrovia and beyond where young people, some barely older than me, sit on the roadside with hollow eyes and bent backs, lost to kush and other substances. I have seen classmates drop out of school because drugs took hold of their minds before books ever had the chance. This is why I say, without fear of exaggeration, that drugs are the worst enemy Liberia has ever faced.
We survived a civil war. We survived Ebola. We are still finding our way after COVID-19. But the drug crisis eating away at our youth today is different, because it is quiet. It does not announce itself with gunfire or checkpoints. It creeps into homes, into schools, into communities, and it takes our brightest minds one by one. A nation's greatest resource is not its rubber, its iron ore, or its gold. It is its young people. And right now, that resource is being wasted on our own streets.
Every day, we hear stories of boys who once dreamed of becoming doctors, engineers, and teachers, now reduced to shadows of themselves because of kush. Walk through Clara Town, West Point, Duala, or even parts of Sinkor, and you will see it for yourself. These are not bad children. These are children who were failed by unemployment, by poverty, by a lack of opportunity, and now by the absence of strong laws to protect them from the predators who sell this poison.
I am tired of attending funerals of young men who died before they turned twenty-five. I am tired of watching my generation, the generation that is supposed to rebuild this country, being buried under addiction instead of being lifted up by education and opportunity. If we lose our youth to drugs, we lose Liberia's future, plain and simple.
This is why I am calling on the Honorable Members of the Liberian Legislature to act now, not tomorrow, not next year, but now. Pass the bill that says no to drugs. Give our law enforcement the legal teeth they need to go after those who import, manufacture, and distribute these substances. Support real rehabilitation centers, not just for show, but places where young people struggling with addiction can actually get help and come back to society whole. Invest in awareness campaigns in our schools before children ever get the chance to try these drugs in the first place.
Legislation alone will not solve this problem overnight, but it is the foundation everything else stands on. Without strong laws, dealers operate freely, addiction spreads unchecked, and families keep losing their sons and daughters. With strong laws, backed by real enforcement and real rehabilitation, we give ourselves a fighting chance.
I still believe in Liberia. I believe in a future where a young person can walk through Duala or West Point and see hope instead of hopelessness. I believe our legislature can rise to this moment the same way past leaders rose to rebuild this country after war. But belief is not enough. Action is needed, and it starts with this bill.
To the Honorable Members of the Legislature, the youth of this country are watching and we are counting on you. Say no to drugs. Save Liberia's future.
D. Kruah, Pascal
A concerned Liberian student
