Pastor: Put more into reducing number of drug addicts

A PASTOR from the Christian Apostolic Church in Western Highlands is calling on the government to pump in more to fight the increasing number of drug addicts in the country.
Pastor Gabriel Bak, from the Gapina CAF Church, in Mt Hagen, said the lives of many young people throughout the country were being destroyed because they were addicted to marijuana.
He said marijuana was the root cause of social problems affecting the country and urged the government to provide money and help with other logistics to help addicts overcome their habit.
Bak said in major crusades where he sometimes ministered, drug addicts uprooted marijuana plants and pledged not to be involved in such activities.
He said as a pastor his job was to pray for them but after a month the same person was seen smoking marijuana again.
Bak said the government should apply tougher penalties apart from funding and logistic support as that would reduce the number of drug addicts.
He said there should be a data bank created with police so that if the same person was caught for a marijuana-related offence, the penalty should be increased.
Bak said when a drug addict was arrested and jailed, church elders and pastors could be called in to pray to so the offender could change his or her way of living.He said the government must consider making the country free of drug addicts.