Abstract
Adolescents prefer an autonomous and independent life that is free from adult
control, there by engaging in various delinquent acts (drug abuse, rape, robbery,
cultism and vandalism) that are dangerous to the home, community, school and the
nation. The impact of drug abuse among adolescents has been a stigma of moral
decadence, violence, thugery, assault, madness and murder.
The menace of drug abuse has eaten deep into the fabrics of our society; however,
with effective counselling programmes, the problems can be tackled through
campaign against drug abuse by government and other relevant authorities Drug
control counselling centres should be established in every community and qualified
health counsellors should be employed in helping drug addicts by giving them special
advice on how to go about the withdrawal system. Drug awareness units to be set up
in all states by the federal, state and local government not to try people who use
drugs as criminals, but to help
INTRODUCTION
1.1BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Firstly, I consider it very important and necessary to define drug before
writing on the main subject matter of this research work. Therefore one
need to ask what really is drug? Since the early times, herbs, leaves and
plants have been use to heal and control diseases.
The use of drugs in itself does not constitute any danger, because drugs
correctly administered have been a blessing. Falco (1988) as cited by
Sambo (2008) viewed that “chronic use of substances can cause serious,
sometimes irreversible damage to adolescent’s physical and
psychological development. The use of drugs could be beneficial or
harmful depending on the mode of use.
A drug refers to a substance that could bring about a change in the
biological function through its chemical actions (Okoye, 2001). It is also
considered as a substance that modifies perceptions, cognition, mood,
behaviour and general body functions (Balogun, 2006). Thus, be
considered as chemical modifiers of the living tissues that could bring
about physiological and behavioural changes (Nnachi, 2007).
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Drug abuse is a major public health problem all over the world
(UNODC) (2005). The use and abuse of drugs by adolescents have
become one of the most disturbing health related phenomena in Nigeria
and other parts of the world (NDLEA; 1997).Several school going
adolescents experience mental health programme, either temporarily or
for a long period of time.
Some become insane, maladjusted to school situations and eventually
drop out of school.
According to Fawa (2003), “Drug is defined as any substance, which is
used for treatment or prevention of a disease in man and animals. Drug
alters the body functions either positively or otherwise depending on the
body composition of the user, the type of drug used, the amount used and
whether used singly or with other drugs at the same time”. NAFDAC
(2000) as cited by Haladu (2003) explained the term drug abuse as
excessive and persistent self-administration of a drug without regard to
the medically or culturally accepted patterns. It could also be viewed as
the use of a drug to the extent that it interferes with the health and social
function of an individual. World Book Encyclopedia (2004) defined drug
abuse as the non-medical use of a drug that interferes with a healthy and
productive life. Manbe (2008) defined drug abuse as the excessive,
maladaptive or addictive use of drugs for non-medical purpose.
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Abdulahi (2009) viewed drug abuse as the use of drugs to the extent
that interferes with the health and social function of an individual. In
essence, drug abuse may be defined as the arbitrary overdependence or
mis-use of one particular drug with or without a prior medical diagnosis
from qualified health practitioners. It can also be viewed as the unlawful
overdose in the use of drug(s).
Odejide (2000) warned that drug abusers who exhibit symptoms of
stress, anxiety, depression, behaviour changes, fatigue and loss or
increase in appetite should be treated by medical experts and counselors
to save them from deadly diseases.
On the other hand, we can on the broad sense define drug as any man
made, natural or endogenous molecule which excretes a biochemical and
physiological effect on the cell, tissue, organ or organism. It is very
important to note here that drugs are capable of being toxic and all drugs
can produce unwanted effects in a high dose or if taken incorrectly.
Therefore, the difference between poison and medicine is merely a matter
of concentration.
The history of drugs usage is as old as man himself and there is hardly
any culture earth wide that does not rely on one drug or the other to
facilitate interaction, celebrate festivals or to enhance religious rituals.
Some of the drugs used then were kola nut, bitter kola, alcohol and
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tobacco. In the time past, our forefathers mostly use available substance
such as kola nut, tobacco, herbs etc. for medicinal purposes but today in
our society, the youths use and abuse various type of drugs especially
pressure producing substance or that which relaxes anxiety and tension.
The practice has spread through universities, colleges, high school and
even elementary schools. The illicit use of drugs is corrupt, dangerous,
weakening and eating deep into the fabric of the polity and at the same
time claiming hundreds of lives each year and these mostly affected are
young people. The problem is unbearably alarming that it has extended
beyond the usual characteristic profile or drug abusers being male adults
and urban base but now includes females, young stars and those who
lives in rural areas. In Nigeria in particular, the menace was not confined
to a particular sex or age, it is found among top professionals, high class
executives, musicians, truck drivers as well as sport men and women.
1.1.1 TYPES OF DRUG ABUSE
In Nigeria, the most common types of abused drugs according to
NAFDAC (2000) as cited by Haladu (2003) are categorized as follows:-
1. Stimulants: These are substances that directly act and stimulate the
central nervous system.
Users at the initial stage experience pleasant effects such as energy
increase. The major source of these comes from caffeine substance.
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2. Hallucinogens’: These are drugs that alter the sensory processing unit
in the brain. Thus, producing distorted perception, feeling of anxiety and
euphoria, sadness and inner joy, they normally come from marijuana,
LSD etc.
3. Narcotics: These drugs relive pains, induce sleeping and they are
addictive. They are found in heroin, codeine, opium etc.
4. Sedatives: These drugs are among the most widely used and abused.
This is largely due to the belief that they relieve stress and anxiety, and
some of them induce sleep, ease tension, cause relaxation or help users to
forget their problems. They are sourced from valium, alcohol,
promotazine, chloroform.
5. Miscellaneous: This is a group of volatile solvents or inhalants that
provide euphoria, emotional dis-inhibition and perpetual distortion of
thought to the user. The main sources are glues, spot removers, tube
repair, perfumes, chemicals etc.
6. Tranquilizers: They are believed to produce calmness without bringing
drowsiness, they are chiefly derived from Librium, Valium etc.
The term “drug abuse” is excessive or persistent usage of drugs without
regard for accepted medical practice. Given this definition, it means that
all drugs can be abused. Drug abuse is often used to refer to psychoactive
or hard drugs which has effect on the central nervous system; the mind,
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mood, behaviour and eventually the total health and personality to the
individual.
The resultant effects of drug abuse are visible in both urban and rural
areas. Sick men and women are roaming our streets, we witnessing large
number of youths who are acutely intoxicated exhibiting violence and
violent behaviours everywhere most especially “Okada” riders.
1.1.2 CAUSES OF DRUG ABUSE
Haladu (2003) gave the following as the main causes:-
i. Experimental Curiosity: Curiosity to experiment the unknown facts
about drugs thus motivates adolescents into drug use. The first
experience in drug abuse produces a state of arousal such as happiness
and pleasure which in turn motivate them to continue.
ii. Peer Group Influence: Peer pressure plays a major role in influencing
many adolescents into drug abuse. This is because peer pressure is a fact
of teenage and youth life. As they try to depend less on parents, they
show more dependency on their friends. In Nigeria, as other parts of the
world, one may not enjoy the company of others unless he conforms to
their norms.
iii. Lack of parental supervision: Many parents have no time to supervise
their sons and daughters. Some parents have little or no interaction with
family members, while others put pressure on their children to pass
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exams or perform better in their studies. These phenomena initialize and
increases drug abuse.
iv. Personality Problems due to socio-Economic Conditions: Adolescents
with personality problems arising from social conditions have been found
to abuse drugs. The social and economic status of most Nigerians is
below average. Poverty is widespread, broken homes and unemployment
is on the increase, therefore our youths roam the streets looking for
employment or resort to begging. These situations have been aggravated
by lack of skills, opportunities for training and re-training and lack of
committed action to promote job creation by private and community
entrepreneurs. Frustration arising from these problems lead to recourse in
drug abuse for temporarily removing the tension and problems arising
from it.
v. The Need for Energy to Work for Long Hours: The increasing
economic deterioration that leads to poverty and disempowerment of the
people has driven many parents to send their children out in search of a
means of earning something for contribution to family income.
These children engage in hawking, bus conducting, head loading,
scavenging, serving in food canteens etc and are prone to drug taking so
as to gain more energy to work for long hours.
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vi. Availability of the Drugs: In many countries, drugs have dropped in
prices as supplies have increased.
vii. The Need to prevent the Occurrence of Withdrawal symptoms: If a
drug is stopped, the user experiences what is termed “withdrawal
symptoms”. Pain, anxiety, excessive sweating and shaking characterize
such symptoms. The inability of the drug user to tolerate the symptoms
motivates him to continue (Ige, 2000).
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The adolescents and youths of Mararaba town constitute the high risk
group with female getting more involved than they used to. The attention
of the government has been drawn to this menace hence government has
put in place National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). The
agency is charged with the responsibility of combating the problem of
drug abuse and to check the trafficking of hard drugs. However, drug
abuse continues to ravage the energetic strata of our society.
The menace of drug abuse world over and Nigeria in particular has
generated a great deal of National controversy, opposition, criticism and
debate. The issue of what constitute drug abuse in Mararaba town has
become a thing of concern amongst the health workers, educational elites
and other people alike. It is against this back ground that the researcher
intend to investigate the “side effect” of drugs when wrongly used or not
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used according to Doctor’s prescriptions or other crude means of
handling drugs among the youths in our society.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The study will aim at:
i. Finding out why youth in Mararaba town engage in drug abuse
ii. Identifying and assessing the type of drugs most commonly
used by the youths
iii. Assessing the extent of damage or less suffered by the
community on account of drug abuse
iv. Educating the youth on Mararaba on the dangers, causes and
prevention of drug abuse
v. Hastening and widening many readers knowledge on the efforts
made by the government and health workers on the control and
prevention of drug abuse.
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The findings of this research will be significant in the following
areas:-
i. The research will increase the awareness of the menace drug
abuse pose to our society.
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ii. For policy makers, the research will be of great benefit. It
will assist them in creating policies that will enable the
eradication of drug abuse in our society.
iii. As an academic exercise, it will greatly increase the body of
knowledge.
1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
i. What are the effects of drug abuse on the society?
ii. What government policies are available to eradicate this
menace in our society?
iii. Are males more affected by drug abuse than females?
iv. Does drug abuse lead to certain mental illnesses
1.6 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
The following are some of the difficulties encountered by the researcher:
i. Financial constraint but was able to collect individual views of
the respondents
ii. Mararaba is a large town and the people are busy with their
businesses so it was not easy to cover the whole area
iii. Another problem that this researcher faced was time factor as
there were some other commitment that line up to be executed
in conjunction with this project work but with concerted effort,
the researcher was able to cover key areas in other to have a
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widening perspective and to come out with a comprehensive
and meaningful piece of work
iv. The research project of this nature has to do with people’s
private life, most youths refused to cooperate based on the
questionnaires administered
v. Some of the questionnaires were not properly filled and
questions were not answered because they thought they will be
exposed. Therefore, the result of the study cannot be
generalized due to the limited area chosen.
1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS
i. Drug: A drug refers to a substance that could bring about a
change in the biological function through its chemical actions
(Okoye, 2001).
ii. Drug Abuse: Manbe (2008) defined drug abuse as the
excessive, maladaptive or addictive use of drugs for nonmedical purpose.
iii. Drug Addiction: A state of periodic or chronic intoxication
detrimental to the individual (Okuh, 1978).
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iv. Sedative Drug: This depresses the central nervous system.
These drugs lessen excitement or functional activities e.g.
Barbiturate or mosadon (Orubu, 1983).
v. Narcotics: These are drugs that stimulate the central nervous
system (Ekpo, 1981).
vi. Alcoholism: This is a disease condition in the human system
characterized by excessive and continuous consumption of
alcohol (Odejide, 2000).
vii. Drug Dependence: A state of emotional reliance upon drug in
order to maintain a drug induced state.
viii. Illicit: Forbidden unlawful.