A drug is any substance (with the exception of food and water) that, when taken into the body, alters the body’s function either physically and/or psychologically. Drugs may be legal (e.g. alcohol, caffeine and tobacco) or illegal (e.g. cannabis, ecstasy, cocaine and heroin).
Drugs can be categorised by the way in which they affect our bodies: depressants- slow down the function of the central nervous system; hallucinogens – affect your senses and change the way you see, hear, taste, smell or feel things; stimulants- speed up the function of the central nervous systems.
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When you use legal or illegal substances in ways you shouldn’t. You might take more than the regular dose of pills or use someone else’s prescription. You may abuse drugs to feel good, ease stress, or avoid reality.
Drug comes with negative effects, some of which could be mild and others are deadly, these effects include psychosis, paranoia and other criminal activities, especially stealing to get money for the next substance. Drug also have some effects on the family. It has caused many problems in the family ranging from causing high blood pressure on the parents of the abusers, drugs addicts are even sent packing out of their homes because of how broken they have become and addictive parents abandon their children to the mercy of social vices of which some of these children turn out to be like them or even involve themselves in all kinds of negative things and become nuisance. These addicts will involve themselves in all manner of crimes to get money to satisfy their addiction. Some even avail themselves to be used as assassins, thugs and touts.
Abuse of drugs can also be curtailed on those who have not started drug abusing by giving enlightenment programmes to the youth, telling them the effects and consequences of drugs on them, their families and the society at large. Enforcing the law of drug abuse and meeting punishment of the abusers and addicts. There should be Strict law on drug abuse.
Drug education should also be included in the school curriculum so that from a very early and young stage, students will be taught the effects and consequences of drug abuse on them, their families and society.
Empowerment of the youth and also the creation of job opportunities can curtail the abuse of drugs because an idle man is the devil’s workshop. When one is idle, all negatives thought to keep him busy will be on his mind. Also, some people do drugs out of depression, over poverty, lost job, and the feeling of being a failure. When youth empowerment scheme and jobs are available, depression is eradicated reducing the abuse of drugs because of depression.
Nwoko Kingsley Obinna,
Dept of Mass Communication,
University of Maiduguri
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