30th July, 2015
By Michael Oputeh
A drug is a substance used for medical purposes that changes the state or function of the body. On the other hand, drug abuse is a situation when drug is taken more than it is prescribed. It could be seen as the use of illicit drugs, or the abuse of prescription or over-the-counter drugs. It could further be defined as the deliberate use of chemical substances for reasons other than intended medical purposes and which results in physical, mental emotional or social impairment of the user. World Health Organization (WHO) defined substance abuse as “the harmful or hazardous use of psychoactive substances, including alcohol and illicit drugs”.
Of late, there has been great concern over drug abuse among the youth in Africa. A radical change appears to have taken place about 30 years ago when substance abuse crept into the mainstream society. There has been a dramatic acceleration of this trend during the past 20 years. Concern regarding abuse of hard drugs such as heroin and cocaine is even more recent, starting about 15 years ago in some countries and escalating to involve more countries in the last 5 years.
There is a consensus of opinion that these changes in drug abuse have been preceded and accompanied by a steady and unavoidable erosion of traditional social fabric and values. The African family, recognized in its extended form, occupied a prime and central position in this social system. Sadly, however, this system is disintegrating. Social disintegration is also accelerating under the adverse influences of growing poverty, civil war, tribal conflicts, droughts and other natural catastrophes which lead to famine and massive displacement of populations, creating a situation in which drug abuse worsens rapidly.
There is, therefore, not only a need to address the immediate factors contributing towards drug abuse, but also to look into factors that have contributed towards the disintegration of our families. The challenge is not only to turn the tide against drug abuse but also to the extent possible, to repair the erosion of our family structures and social-economic systems. This is an aspiration that is enshrined in the treaty establishing the African Economic Community.
The influencing factors among the youth, drug users were consistently more exposed to the various elements of what may be labelled drug culture, they had heard about and saw more of drugs, they had more friends and more relatives who themselves had been taking drugs ‑ in short, they were in a social environment that was more permissive to drug abuse and less stigmatizing of drug abusers. Peer pressure, parental guidance, availability and perceived harmfulness may be part of the elements of this culture. Parental drug use behaviour also influences children’s behaviour. A study in Lagos and Kano clearly demonstrated this. Parents who abuse drugs may also suffer from other social difficulties. Individuals from a background of family breakdown are often over represented among addicted patients.
The world view of this drug culture may include expectations and misconceptions of effects of drug use, which influence experimentation and continued abuse. There appears to be a meaningful association between drug use and beliefs about effects of such use. Smokers generally tended to belong to this culture. They were more preoccupied with drug taking, experimented more with drugs of abuse and more of them became drug abusers. Elements of urbanization process appear to foster this culture.
Substance abuse is, with some variation, generally more common in urban areas than in rural areas. Urban life, together with rapid socio‑technical change, is associated with weakening of community integrity and family system. A research observed that the most important social export from Europe to developing countries is the institution of nuclear family with its preoccupation with youth culture and abandonment of old people, setting the stage for further disintegration towards marital separation, divorce and single parenthood. Civil conflicts, economic depression, and migrant labour away from families in many countries have added to the stress that has found expression in substance abuse.
Smoking and experimenting with cannabis and opiates increased the risk of falling into a pattern of regular abuse of these substances. One quarter of those who experimented on cannabis and opiates proceeded to become regular abusers of those substances. Smoking was a good marker of experimenters who were likely to proceed to become regular drug abusers. Bachelorhood was another risk faster for experimenters becoming established as drug abusers. Experimenters who stopped taking drugs realized that the drugs could be harmful to their health. Women experimented less with drug taking and were less involved in drug abuse. This may partly be because close relatives are more important to women than other people as a source of information about drugs.
An important contributing factor to recent increase in drug abuse is the growing gap between the promises and allure of urban life of many African metropolises and the stark reality of poverty. Drug culture offers counterfeit satisfaction and, for some, dangerous means to a livelihood. In Nigeria, the government believes that identifying and addressing issues that would enhance the lives of the youth would improve overall national development, because youth constitute Nigeria’s only hope for the future.
In Lagos State, the government inaugurated an Inter-ministerial Drugs Abuse Committee in 1983 in conjunction with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, in recognition of the social, economic and health hazards posed by the problems associated with drug abuse, misuse and illicit drug trafficking. The idea is to sensitize the populace to the increased surge of drug abuse and consequent crime, to mobilize support and participation of the populace in programmes and equally encourage the populace to support local initiative in drug control and encourage the populace to live healthy lifestyles devoid of illicit drug use.
Particularly worrisome is the escalating use of alcohol and mind altering drugs amongst the youth in Lagos State. This practice is closely linked with juvenile delinquency, school failure, violent crimes and generally unsafe environment. Use of heroin and cocaine is more prevalent in Lagos and other metropolitan cities and common among street beggars. The use of Amphetamine- type substances is also increasing especially in big cities such as Lagos.
To stem the tide of drug abuse among the youth, it is important for anti-narcotic agency to step up the clampdown on the production, control of the sale, distribution and use of illicit drugs. Similarly, agencies of government saddled with national orientation and those with responsibility of curbing crimes must be up and doing.
—Oputeh is of the Lagos State Ministry of Infobrmation and Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja.