Tramadol, a powerful analgesic, is increasingly consumed by drivers of Togolese taxi-motorcycles, commonly called Zemidjans, for they say, endure their harassing days. Report!
After several solicitations, Vita (not borrowing), a gentleman of 1m93 and 100 kg, driver of motorcycle taxi for ten years, finally agrees to plunge us into the world of consumers Tramadol. Let's get all ambiguity right from the start. There is no mention here of the medicinal product prescribed by the physician against the pain of the back or of the joint and which the patient must obtain from the pharmacy; But of doubtful origin whose consumers, especially the Zemidjans, are ignorant of everything.
Rendezvous is taken in a refreshment bar next to the Eda-Oba hotel. It all begins with our 'guide' when, he says, he is unable to honor his commitment to the owner of his motorcycle (the two are bound by a contract called work and pay), He devoted himself to the consumption of the Tramadol designated in their jargon Work, Eat and Sleep or the "giga". Taken with a small cup of sugar-free tea, he "shields you", he confides. "I can work 24 hours a day without feeling tired. It gives you energy to face everything. When you take it, you feel so strong that you do not shrink from anything, "he says. As our source, there are many taxi-motorcycle drivers who take this drug found on the informal market so of dubious origin; But our interlocutor said that he stopped taking three or four years ago.
The consumption of this derivative of morphine normally prescribed to the patients of the back, the joint or recovering from a surgical operation grows, Especially in the ranks of the Zemidjans. Kodjo Sovon, met at the market of Nukafu, confesses to consume it every day. "If I do not, I can not drive," he says. He adds that he is not embarrassed to say publicly what many of his comrades prefer to shut up. He cites several places in Lomé where it is easy to find the "giga" without problem.
Vita, he goes so far as to portray the robot of his consumer colleges. "When you see jeans and very tight clothes gathering 10, 15, 20 or even more around a coffee seller in a place regularly, you should know that they consume it. Before they buy coffee from Nigerian street vendors and pour Tramadol in capsules. Today cafeterias even discreetly serve codes, "he reveals.
All the informal sellers of the "cocaine of the poor" whom we asked for to get us said they did not sell. According to the information, they only sell their products on the market to their loyal customers or those they identify as taxi-motorcycle drivers. Reason, officially, the competent authorities track them.
The dozen Zemidjans consumers that we were able to question are unanimous in confiding that they forget their worries while being under the influence of the illegal drug. "When you take it, you do not want to eat anymore, you are not even hungry during the day," said one who requested anonymity. And his comrade who claims to have taken it twice that day adds: "Without Working, Eating and Sleeping, Many of us can not move under the burning sun every day. "
Consequences ...
The interviewees acknowledge that once the Tramadol is taken, they feel afterwards, headaches, muscular pains, especially the next day. In the long run, "consumers have virility problems," adds Vita. Doctors, for their part, explain that "giga" blocks the liver, creates kidney failure ...
Consumers of this substance that causes loss of the head are exposed to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and traffic accidents. They are focused on violence, theft, robbery, among others, lists our main source.
There is every reason to believe that the Zemidjans are not alone in taking this drug of informal origin. According to them, Some who do difficult jobs in love.
Tramadol smuggling comes from Asia and floods the continent, especially West Africa, according to a report by the International Narcotics Control Board, a UN agency, published in 2015. The same document informs that 2012, between February and October, more than 132 tonnes are seized in Benin, Ghana, Senegal and Togo. In our country, in 2013, the drug and money laundering authorities seized 65.5 kg of Tramadol from a Nigerian trader in Dékon (a commercial crossroads of Lomé) in 2013.
The Association Research Action Prevention Accompaniment des Addictions (RAPAA) closely monitors the extent of consumption of this additive substance. Among the sixty patients who come to follow, in his center, Psychotherapy sessions include those who have become addicted to Tramadol. According to the president of the Catherine Cormont Touré Association, "it's a matter of public health, mental health." She promises that her association will in the next few days carry out a survey on the issue in order to have reliable statistics. The best way to fight against this scourge remains, she insists, awareness.
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