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The Danger Of Illicit Use Of Hard Drugs Among Secondary School Students
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1.2 Statement of the problem
Drug use is a worldwide phenomenon, and
drug use occurs in almost every country. The specific drug or drugs
used varies from country to country and from region to region.
Worldwide, the three main drugs of use are cannabis (such as marijuana),
opiates (such as heroin), and cocaine. Although individual countries
have their own drug laws, in general, drug possession, sale, and use are
illegal. Unfortunately, laws are not always equally enforced in
countries around the world.
Drug abuse [especially among the youth
and young adults] is responsible for lost wages, destruction of property
in schools, soaring health care costs and broken families. It is a
problem which affects us all as parents, children, teachers, government
officials, taxpayers and workers. Despite eradication efforts in
countries in Africa, the region still remains a major supplier of some
drugs such as cannabis, which is one of the most widely abused drugs.
Since the early nineteen eighties, Africa has been experiencing an
escalating problem with drug abuse and trafficking. Although reliable
information is scarce, data collected under the Eastern Africa Drug
Information System/Global Assessment Programme (EADIS/GAP), country
mission reports coupled and small-scaled research activities conducted
by governments and nongovernmental organizations all attest to this
(Abdool, 2004).
According to World Drug report (2012), the extent of
global illicit drug use over the five years up to and including 2010, is
at between 3.4 and 6.6 per cent of the adult population (persons aged
15-64). However, some 10-13 per cent of drug users continue to be
problem users with drug dependence and/or drug-use disorders, the
prevalence of HIV (estimated at approximately 20 per cent), hepatitis C
(46.7 per cent) and hepatitis B (14.6 per cent) among injecting drug
users continues to add to the global burden of disease, and, last but
not least, approximately 1 in every 100 deaths among adults is
attributed to illicit drug use. With estimated annual prevalence ranging
from 0.6 to 0.8 per cent of the population aged 15-64, the use of
opioids (mainly heroin, morphine and non-medical use of prescription
opioids) is stable in all of the main markets. Worrisome is that drug
consumption has developed some key characteristics over the last few
decades, against a backdrop of rapid socioeconomic transitions in a
number of countries. Illicit drug use is now characterized by a
concentration among youth. Global estimates suggest that prevalence of
tobacco use (25 per cent of the population aged 15 and above).
The
above evidence show an increase of drug abuse by young Nigerians.
Psychologically it can be argued that young Nigerians who are of school
age have acquired a taste for illicit drug which is in itself a worrying
trend. In other words it can be said that young Nigerians have been and
are being socialized into drugs. It is in this background that this
study sought to find out the extent to which drugs are being abused in
schools and the level of confidence there is among young Nigerians in
school in engaging in drug abuse.
1.3 Research Questions
The specific research questions for this study are:
Is drug abuse affecting the academic program of the students in secondary schools?
Which drugs are commonly abused by the students?
How confident are students in abusing drugs?
1.4 Objectives of the study 1.4.1 Main Objective
The
main objective of this study is to find out danger of illicit use of
hard drugs among secondary school students in Gwagwalada, Abuja.
1.4.2 Specific Objectives
To identify the commonly used drugs among the secondary schools students.
To find out the sources of the commonly abused substances and their influence on academic performance.
To establish the extent of substance abuse.
To analyze the level of self-efficacy among these students.
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