Effect of drug abuse among youths
Dreams of every parents is to see their children well established. To know and obey both civil and religious laws. To be good citizens and heroes to their nation. This can only be achieved of their thoughts, actions and beliefs are free from vanity.
But as children pass the adolescent stage of their life, they face many problems and struggle with many temptations that if not carefully managed will cause great impedement towards achieving such dreams. Many scholars have characterized the adolescent stage as the most challenging period of one's life usually associated with psychological and chaotic situations such as pressure, depression, isolation and more. The inability of some youths to manage this period has resulted to many seeking for escapism in the wrong places.
Alcoholism, drug abuse and nicortic abuse has become rampant among today's youths which has bring public outery due to the increasing numbers of mad people on the streets, increasing numbers of crimes and eventually but most regretful increasing number of deaths that are associated with drug abuse either directly or indirectly.
There is no better, reasonable or justifiable excuse for one to give for engaging in drug abuse apart from the obvious, fake and temporary pleasurable condition experienced due to intoxication this should further cousade the dangerous and devastating effects of drug abuse to not only the individual but the nation at large.
Youths of nowadays, have resolved into use of lizard dung, soak away toilets, fumes and pharmaceutical products like cocaine, tramadol, cough syrups and the like to get intoxicated. Drug abuse has been shown to alter brain which affects human behavior.
Drug addiction develops brain changes which interfere with the individuals ability to make voluntary decision. Consequences of abuse of these substances include but not limited to; memory loss, anxiety, depression, mental disorder and many more. Apart from the above mentioned mental problems, chronic substance abuse causes organs damage stroke, cancer, fertility problems, respiratory diseases, gastrointestinal disease,and some of course, the ultimate consequences of chronic substance abuse are death, either due to over dose or prolonged use.
Even with the tremendous efforts of the government and with supports from Non governmental organization and international organization in advocacy against drug abuse, reliabihitation of converts and permorhment illegal drugs suppliers, there seem to be no tangeable progress recorded recently. Relevants authorities have been arresting defaulters of relevant law, and burning of bad illegal drugs in the country, this does not seem to stop the youth from abusing drugs.
In order to find solutions to this problem and contail the fast spreading practice of drug abuse in the country there is need to take a holistic approach to end this menaces. Drug abuse is undoubtedly a product of an ideal mind and a lazy hand. There are millions of youth jobless roaming the streets day and night without anyone doing something about it. many newborn babies are left out on the street to grow and become orphans without family values and good morals. Religious institutions have miggle itself with politics that people no longer trust and have faith in the priest and imams. The society has lost grip of the influencing power of opinion leaders.
The media which is the hope of the people has become more commercialized giving more prominence to the elite in the society forgetting about developmental issues. The problem we now face is real we all contributed to the degrading of our socialtal norms and values.
Government, even though, should not be allow to saddle the responsibility of solving this problem, but should be given the opportunity of building a strong economy that its citizen will pass the stage of living as survivals. Government should restore the lost trust of our political systems, making sure that the people are respected and given chance to build their country. The nation education system should be restructured to take in drug addict converts. Skill development and entrepreneurship centers should be establish to provide a source of livelihood for the youths to keep them off the streets. Only when these are achieved then the dreams of parents will no longer be a mirage but a reality.
By Glory Bartholomew and Hirhyel Adamu students of Mass communication university of Maiduguri