Determinants Of Drug Usage Among Females As Perceived By Secondary School Teachers
[A CASE STUDY OF ILORIN SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA]

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
    Drug is any substance used as medicine or in making medicine for internal and external use. Any substance or mixture of substance intended to be used for cure, mitigation prevention of diseases of either man or animals. Drugs could be extended from plants, animals, vitamins, inorganic and synthetic.
    Many parts of plants can be used as drugs chemical substance, which can serve as drug, can be isolated from stem, wood, bark, roots and fruits of plant e.t.c. drug from animal source are usually derived from the animals are also good source of drugs. Drug from inorganic sources may come from metals acids, alkaline and salt.
    According to National Teachers Institute (1990), drug could serve many functions as outlined below:
a.    Drugs are used to prevent the occurrence of a diseases or to lessen its severely if it does occur,
b.    Drugs used to aid the physician in diagnosing what is causing certain symptoms;
c.    Drugs remises the symptoms of the disease and may destroy the causative agent.
d.    It sustains the patient until other measures can be taken or unit the body is able to or not able to remover from disease or ailment.  
e.    Drug is used to replace substance normally found in the body.
All drugs have multiple effects and these very from dose level to dose level, from person to person and are greatly influenced by time and setting. Drug effects are a function of the interaction between the drug the individuals psychological and social milieu. Some drugs are dangerous for some individuals at some dosage level under some circumstances. Some drugs are more dangerous than others, some individuals are more susceptible to drugs than others.
Drugs abuse, which originally concerned as the problem of few elites have extended to a sizeable proportion of youths in the country. Drug abuse constitutes a major threat to the existence and function of a million of people around the world, Widom (2000).
According to Akintade (2005), drug abuse is the use of a drug that is not in accordance with the recommended medical use of drug. Drugs are especially those that affect the brain and mind by depressing, stimulating or disorganizing it such drugs are usually referred to as “Hard Drugs” examples as cocaine alcohol, marijuana, heroin, contraceptives pills and capsules.
The tangible cost to Australian society of drug and alcohol related crime have been estimated at over $4 billion (Collins & Inpsley, 2002). In a recent report Mayhew (2003), the cost of crime in Australia was estimated to be at least $32 billion and drug offences to be at least $1.96 billion, bill could possibly be higher because drugs are implicated in many other crime.
According to Australian National Drug Strategy (2003), the Australian Government has responded to drug abuse through the Australian National Drug Strategy, a partnership of federal, state and territory governments and the non-government sector. The National Drug Strategy aims to improve health, social and economic outcomes for Australians by preventing the up take of harmful drug use and reducing the harmful effects of licit drugs in society. Eight priorities are identified as areas for future action within the 2004 – 2009 Nation Drug Strategy: -
1.    Prevent the onset of drug use
2.    Reduce the supply of drugs
3.    Reduce drug use and related harms
4.    Improved access to treatment
5.    Develop the workforce and organization to respond effectively.
6.    Strengthen partnerships among governments, communities, organization, business medical professions and research institution.
7.    Implement the National Drug Strategy Aboriginal and Torres Strait is launder peoples complementary Action Plan 2002 – 2003.
8.    Identify and respond to emerging trends through research environment scanning and evaluation.
Source: http://wwwnationaldrugstrategygov.au-papframework0409.
In Nigerian, both the Ministry of Health and National Drug law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) are working toward reducing to the barest minimum habit of use of hard drugs. The Nation has empowered the NDLEA to use both persuasive (counselling) and force caressing and jailing approached to contain use and abuse, National Teachers Institute (1990).
According to Odejide (1985), a drug can be abuse when
-    It is medically unnecessary
-    It is used against local and international prohibition
-    And when it has been used excessively.
The misuse of drugs by teenagers, young men and women is the greatest single evil in the country today. The danger pose by Nigeria and indeed the world over as leaders hopes and mothers of futures generation is so great that no reasonable government, community, family or individual can afford to over look.