DRUG AND ALCOHOLIC ABUSE AMONG THE YOUTHS
ABSTRACT
This project is an analysis of Drug and Alcoholic abuse among the youths in Agege Local Government Area of Lagos State. The nature of continuous exposure to the street and its associated lifestyles makes most youths vulnerable to the use of psychoactive substances. At present, there is insufficient information regarding the pattern of psychoactive substance use among
this group of children in Nigeria. The most commonly used psychoactive substances were alcohol, kola nut, tobacco
and cannabis. None of the respondents reported the use of cocaine, opiates or hallucinogens. Length of stay on the
street was found to be significantly predictive of current psychoactive substance use. The readily available and
relatively cheap substances were in common use among street children with the length of stay on the street being a
significant predictive factor. The affected community and the government should design methods of curtailing the
problem of drug use and helping the children off the street.
CHAPTER ONE
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Alcohol use and abuse is a serious problem among young people. There are a number of unhealthy risks associated
with it, including alcohol dependence, and alcohol related accidents and violence.
There are many factors that contribute to the influence of drug abuse or drug addiction among the Nigerian youths,
namely peer groups, parental background (broken home), and emotional stress among others.
Today, majority of people m the country believe that drug abuse is a cankerworm and a disturbing problem in the lives
of our youths.
It has already been established that drug abuse is a factor to be reckoned with. While some people see it from the
psychological point of view as part of Erikson’s Psycho-social Development and Maslow’s Need Gratification Theory
(1954), others perceive drug abuse as a societal malaise.
That it is socially unacceptable in Nigeria is manifested in some recent anti-drug agencies formed in different parts of
the country. For instance, apart from institutional and state anti-drug agencies, the Federal Government created the
National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). This shows the extent to which drug abuse has assumed national
importance.
It is therefore an evil to be properly watched, monitored and discouraged. Like “little drops of water that forms
oceans”, it probably started at home, school, or societal levels only to become a phenomenon of uncontrollable
magnitude. The research work reported in this paper arose because this phenomenon from all Indications is worth
probing into especially from the view point of controlling this menace in our society.
Young people who persistently abuse substances often experience an array of problem, including, academic
difficulties, health-related problems (including mental health), poor peer relationships and involvement with the
juvenile justice system. Additionally, there are consequences for family members, the community, and the entire
society. In fact, the most likely cause of death for a 16 year old is alcohol related. For that reason, it is important to
clearly understand the extent of youth involvement in underage drinking.
The impact of drug and alcohol abuse among Nigerian youth has been a stigma of a morally bankrupt, decadent and
wasted generation that must be revitalized and collectively salvaged together in order to prevent the total
degeneration and loss of our societal values and ideals. What is the brain behind our rotten society via the Nigerian
youth? The answer is not fetched; it’s simply drug and substance abuse.
We cannot all sit on the fence and criminally pretend on the menace of drug abuse that has eaten very deep into the
fabrics of our society. The idea of smoking cigarette in the past is something very rare, unlike today that hard drugs
and marijuana is openly smoked and distributed freely in the open with the very law enforcement agents keeping a
blank eye. What do we mean by the term “drug abuse”? Drug abuse may be defined as the “arbitrary” overdependence or abuse of one particular drug with or without a prior medical diagnosis from qualified health
practitioners. Majority of the Nigerian youths ignorantly depend on one form of drug or the other for their various daily
activities – social, educational, political, moral, etc.
Dangerous drugs like cocaine, Indian hemp (marijuana), morphine, heroine, tobacco, ephedrine etc. Some of these
dangerous drugs are both represents and stimulants, making the users either to feel high (on top of the world!) or low
(below the sea level!) since there is a common adage which says “Show me your friend and I will tell you who you
are”.
The sociological implications of drug abuse among the Nigerian youth have been a major threat to the peaceful coexistence of all and sundry in our contemporary society, thereby destroying the socio-political dignity, personality and
integrity of dependence on life. The various consequences of the drug abuse or drug addiction are so devastating and
very shameful to the extent that both the national and international organizations all over the world are also worried
about the spread of this scourge among the Nigerian youths.
They are as follows: social violence among youths, armed robbery, mental disorders, 419 syndrome, social
miscreants (Area boys and girls), lawlessness among youth, lack of respect for elders, rape, and many more of the
social evils. Who is to hold to ransom and blame seriously for the menace of drug abuse among the Nigerian youth?
The family through non-internalization of social norms, the society or peer groups of our youths. Many narcotics have
been banned among our youths for their indiscriminate use by the international organizations like FAO (Food and
Agricultural Organization), WHO (World Health Organization) and our various local organizations. There is a proverb
in Latin which says “mens sana in corpore sano” – meaning – “a sound mind in a sound body.” Hence, the ever usage
of drugs and alcohol will never let one be in this state of sound mind in a sound body.
The various consequences of the drug abuse or drug addiction are so devastating and very shameful to the extent
that both the national and international organizations all over the world are also worried about the spread of this
scourge among the Nigerian youths. This deviant behavior happen the breeding ground for other social vices as
follows: social violence among youths, armed robbery, mental disorders, 419 syndrome, social miscreants (Area boys
and girls), lawlessness among youth, lack of respect for elders, rape, and many more of the social evils. Who is to
hold to ransom and blame seriously for the menace of drug abuse among the Nigerian youth? Parental background
via the society or peer groups of our youths?
In the higher institutions of learning, binge drinking has become another social norm. Binge drinking is the habit of
having five or more drinks in a row, which could have serious health risks. Although, binge drinking levels are lower
than they were in the 1980s, there is still a significant minority of youth who are engaging in this risky behavior. Binge
drinking levels increase throughout adolescence and peak at ages 18-22.
More than three-fourths of youth age 12-17 are not regular drinkers. It is very encouraging that despite some
sensational headlines d tragic incidents related to alcohol use and abuse, data from the past two decades show a
continuing trend of decreasing youth alcohol use. One major area of concern remains; however, the increasing
percentage of teens who binge drink.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
It is no longer new in our society that young people has taken after deviant behaviors to express themselves in our
society. Deviance is not a property inherent in certain forms of behavior (Erikson, 1962; Becker, 963; Lemert, 1972); it
is a property conferred upon particular behaviors by social definitions.
In the course of our daily lives, people use normative schemes available to them and make judgments regarding the
desirability or undesirability of this or that behavior. They then translate their judgments into favourable or
unfavourable consequences of those who engage in the behavior. In this sense, deviance is what people say it is.
From the foregoing, it is evident that the larger society frowns at alcohol and drug abuse by the youths.
In this research, attention will be focused on some important problems relating to the causes and challenges as it
affects the youths who abuse the usage of drugs and alcohol in Agege Local Government Area.
The problems among others include:
· The cultural and religious dimension of drugs and alcohol abuse by youths in Agege Local Government in
Lagos State.
· The socio-economic constraints.
· Efforts towards the rehabilitation of drug addicts and their eventual reintegration into the society.
DRUG AND ALCOHOLIC ABUSE AMONG THE YOUTHS