STRENGTHENING PREVENTION OF DRUG ABUSE

 It is no news that a lot of our young people abuse drugs. Some abuse drugs that doctors give to sick people to get well – pharmaceutical opioids like Tramadol, Codeine, etc. These drugs are often taken without a doctor’s prescription. One cannot justifiably talk on drug abuse without listing the aforementioned category of persons who make such choices as to self-prescription and medication. However, this isn’t to lose sight of the fact that there are other illicit drugs gaining grounds in the local market like cocaine, amphetamine, cannabis, amongst others. Drugs that when taken, change the way a person thinks and behaves. The person may even begin to imagine or feel as though he or she can fly, begin to feel so powerful, he or she may want to run into the road and try to stop a moving car without the vested powers of the uniform of a traffic warden.

Yes! This is how daringly outrageous drug use and its abuse can take control of one’s reasoning and rational thoughts. Drug use has the capacity to change people, some of its consequences are life damaging – damage to a person’s brain, lung, heart, liver, kidney, etc. Shocking to know that aside the health problem it bestows upon its user/users, it affects a person’s ability to focus, to think straight as he or she is unable to cater to his/her responsibility. Such a person is unable to focus at work, school and home and this affects their productivity. This is why every serious and responsible government will make the fight against drug abuse a top priority for better productivity especially of her youths.

Drug use is dangerous and destroys not just the individual and indirectly the lives of their family/loved ones, but also, it destroys a nation. When people use drugs and begin to behave in abnormal ways, a lot of us begin to run away, disassociate ourselves from them and do not involve them in activities. This prevalent act amounts to stigmatization and discrimination. My message to you dear reader as we commemorate the UNODC International Day against drug abuse and illicit trafficking – is that you should begin to see them as people like you and people that can be helped.

If you see such people don’t discriminate against them, encourage them to seek help. It is important that we know that drug use problem or disorder has been identified all over the world as a recurring complex medical condition that happens not because of lack of will power to stop using drugs or due to their moral weakness but because of the impact on the functioning of the brain. A person with a drug problem should be seen as someone that has been overpowered by the drug and needs help. Do not reject them, do not look at them as failures. Rather, give them hope! They need your help, care and support. Just as we give care to others with ailments such as diabetes, etc. We are encouraged to care for them, their health, nutrition, and building back their sense of worth.

Let us make our community intolerable to drug dealings and drug activities. We should come together as a group and join the fight against drug abuse. It is a collective responsibility. Report to the relevant authorities, drug activities of people who produce, sell and traffic illicit drugs or psychoactive substances as there are a serious threat to our public health and peaceful coexistence. You owe it to your children and our collective future as a nation!

Ojochide Olije Ayegba, olijegolden@gmail.com