The report released by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime also indicated that Nigeria has 14.3 million drug users. This was revealed yesterday during a one-day awareness workshop on drug abuse and immorality, religious and social approaches to curb the threat organized by Youth and Civil Society for Development.
Introducing a paper on the dangers of drug abuse, consequences and prevention, the National President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Control Agency (NDLEA), General Mohammed Buba Marwa, (Retired), represented by the Director of The agency in Jigawa, Ms Maryam Sani claimed that the dark web drug markets emerged only a decade ago, but the main ones are now worth $ 315 million in annual sales.
Although this is only a fraction of overall drug sales, he said the trend is upward with a four-fold increase between 2011 and mid-2017 and mid-2017 through 2020.
According to her, rapid technological innovation, combined with the agility and adaptability of those who use new platforms to sell drugs and other substances, is likely to give way to a globalized market where all drugs are more available and accessible everywhere. This, in turn, could trigger accelerating changes in drug use patterns and carry public health implications, according to the report.
On drug abuse addictions, he said that a national survey of high school students in the country revealed that 65 percent used drugs to have a good time with their friends, 54 percent wanted to experiment to see what it is like, and the 20- 40 percent used it to alter their mood, simply to feel good, relax or relieve tension.
She said: “To overcome drug abuse among our youth and students, certain measures must be identified such as the influence of the peer group, curiosity and the desire to find the effectiveness of drug abuse, environmental conditions, lack of parental supervision, among other social problems. in order to deal with the threat.
“NDLEA, as one of the federal agencies, will not relent in our efforts to prevent the illegal practice of drug abuse, prevention and control by adopting severe measures and penalties for offenders in our attempt to cleanse society of evil eggs and immorality among our crowd of young people and students ”.
In his opening speech, the Vice Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences of the Federal University of Dutse, Dr. Mustapha Hussein Danjuma pointed out that young people are classified in the category of high risk of drug abuse in the country, while that the widespread use and abuse of drugs in society and substances is encouraged by the conception of the entire general public that they can never abstain from the use of all drugs.
In his remarks, a former executive director of NAFDAC, Ubale Hashim, called for preventive control measures from federal and law enforcement agencies such as NAFDAC and NDLEA, as well as parents and the community to control drug abuse.
The national president of Youth and Civil Society for Development, Comrade Aminu Aminu, said that the public conference was aimed at focusing on the consequences of the threat of social disintegration of social vices as it affects growth and development. Social.
