The author is a professor of Pharmacology at the University of Benin in Nigeria. In the context of Nigeria, this article demonstrates an alarming fact that cannabis, the Indian marijuana, has a consumption of 4 percent of the global population as opposed to 1 percent for all other drugs taken together. It became clear that marijuana remains the most used illegal drugs and Oshodi et al. applauded this point in another separate study conducted in 2010. A possible explanation for the vicious cycle of cannabis use may be the lack of adequate attention and management of control from health policy maker. Difficulties arise, however, when an attempt is made to implement any policy around a significant number of cannabis users in Nigeria. On the other hand, Adewuya notes that in different schools, alcohol use remained the most prevalent among the students. His study shows that most drinking students were introduced to the use of alcohol at a very young age and had their take of alcohol in family settings. Therefore, it is incumbent upon parents and adults to ensure that their children are well educated on drug and alcohol use. Moreover, they need to be motivated by qualified health agencies to teach the youths about the dangers of drug abuse from a young age.

 

The US Department of Health and Human Services has introduced a guideline of controlling drug abuse and addition exploring effective treatment programmes and other evidence-based approaches to personalized drug abuse treatment. This file confirms the importance of preventing and curing drug-abusing youths because failing to deal with drug abuse with the seriousness that it deserves could have a negative impact on the future growth of the future generation. It is evident that the government has a leading and pivotal role in the fight against drug abuse, for example, legislation for harsh punishment or regulation of advertisement. To devote budgets of educating young people the risk and danger of drug abuse is to save money of saving them from behavioral disorder and psychological pain. On a community-based level, this file noted that different community calls for different strategies. Drug-abusers should be able to access new resources to enlighten their lives and maintain a decent impact on society. As for families and schools, efficient counseling programmes can be addressed. Moreover, there are many other agencies providing treatment programmes, for instance, NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse), NIAAA (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism) and CSAT (Center for Substance Abuse Treatment).

 

In addition to Abianwu’s study, the researchers from the College of Medicine of the University of Lagos in Nigeria reiterate a cross-sectional descriptive studies among selected secondary school students in Lagos. They demonstrate that among students within the age bracket of 15 and 16 years, about 40 percent had used illegal drugs at one point in their lives, especially cannabis. Further, they come to the realization that tobacco, alcohol, and psychostimulants are largely misused with varying rates of prevalence established for particular and overall drug use. Secondary school students may use illegal drugs with an aim of alleviating pain, fantasy, escaping reality or achieving euphoria. On the same note, the researchers notice that the long-term prevalence rates of drug abuse in high school and university can take up 47 percent in one of the states in Nigeria. The youths who suffer from dissatisfaction and despondence with their lives as a result of anger, loneliness, and frustration, may easily resort to drugs to fit in. Education ministry should include in the curricula, education on drugs at all levels. The law enforcement agencies should heighten their campaigns against the use of drugs so as to achieve a society that is free from drugs. Such campaigns should lay more emphasis at the high school level because this is the climax of adolescent.

Sussman, from the University of Southern California in USA and Griffiths, from the Nottingham Trent University in UK, collect data from over 83 studies in a 12-month period to estimate the prevalence of 11 addictive behaviors and its co-occurrence in the general U.S. adult population. They define that an addiction disorder includes the inability to make a free choice between continuing and bringing the practice to a halt and makes the victim experience negative consequences. One question that needs to be asked, however, is whether people and their community consider addiction as a stigma or not. For example, alcohol is forbidden as a result of Sharia law in many of the Islamic states, while in the United States, there are states like California which have legalized the use of medical marijuana. Interestingly, they have cited Marks (1990) words that “life is a series of addictions and without them we die”, which implies that any addiction or abuse is largely an acquired practice and this acquisition is based on a chain of personal inclinations. Their study could lead to perspectives that addiction can trigger negative health implications and affect educational performance of the youths.