It saddle my heart seeing students in secondary school today getting addicted to drugs. It’s worrisome to a nation building.
Having conversations with children between the age eleven to fifteen, I observed they have being exposed to many substances that is hazardous to their life.
Although drug abuse in Nigeria started from the time immorial with alcohol(Ogogoro) and with Cannabis also known as India Hermp started as far back in the 40s, not until in the 70s and 80s before drugs like cocaine, heroin became the new trend.
Moreover in the 90s, it later metamorphose from cocaine and heroin to non conventional substances such as volatile solvents or inhalants(rubber solution,nail polish remover,soak away kerosene, petrol, and so on). All this are in hale through nose straight to head.
Today, their is a change in paradigm, pharmaceutical product is now the new trend. Tramadol, refnor, codine, beleny, tutolyn, and so on. While, many still goes by their traditional ways of getting high which is alcohol, Igbo and Skunk(Cannabis)
Tramadol has being given series of sobriquet by teenagers such as TM, Trams and so on. TM is actually a medication given to someone in a severe pain to suppress it and gain energy. Refnor is a sedative drug that often use to calm nerves and today it has being abused.
Meanwhile, Codine, belleny, tutolin all contains cough cyrups, often mixed with soft drinks in secondary schools and youth parties today. To some extent overtaken alcohol in youth parties today.
The situation has become worrisome to society and if it continues this way our country future is at stake. Our youth are incresenly becoming drug addicts.
In fact, the influx and demand of these drugs have made it expensive than it use be.
Substance abuse has grown from family problem to societal problem and today a national problem.
More so, peer pressure, curiosity, ignorance, academic induced frustration and lack of parental care, over the years have being the major predisposition assumptions. In the situation where students are not well guided, either by home or school, they choose wrong peers which will eventually lead them astray with drugs.
Also, the storm and stress of life such as academic workload, learning to be independent from parents put them under pressure to find solace in drugs. In some cases, they take drugs to have momentary relief and out of ignorance of the consequences. Some have been initiated by peers without knowing what they took. They would probably notice that they felt differently and would want to have a similar feel. Before they realise what they are taking, they would have been addicted to a particular substance of abuse. That is why some cannot tell you exactly the name of the substance they took until they go for drug test. In some cases, they mention a substance of abuse whose effect is a contrast to their behaviour.
The consequences of drug abuse by students include extreme violence, gang rape, drug induced suicide, paranoia, poor academic performance, larceny (to feed the habit), school dropout, poor health condition, indebtedness and waste of resources (money and material).
In the same vein, Drug abuse is also associated with anti social vices among students such as cultism, thuggery, racketeering, and armed robbery. This means that the problem of drug abuse among students is the problem of everyone the parents, the school, other students and the society at large.
However, drug that are largely abuse can cause to a liver and kidney problems.
National law enforcement agency alongside National Agency for NAFDAC have doing series of campaign on how to put an end to this trend.
Their are prophecies that states many will go mentally derain in few years time, if the the abuse of drug continues.
Acereportblog 