One of the topics of concern in my society today is the wide use of illegal drugs by the youths both male and female, it is so serious that the government and security operatives are always on alert, still, it isn't as controlled as it's supposed to, I was on my way to the market yesterday when the public transport bus I boarded was stopped by some police officers and some young men and a lady were asked to come down while their bags were thoroughly searched for which I supposed hard drugs, although the passengers felt offended, feeling the police were just wasting our time and hoping to get bribes, I knew it was for a good purpose, because if searches like this are continually taken serious, maybe it will reduce the rate at which these drugs are peddled from one place to another destroying the lives of our younger generation who are supposed to be the bright leaders of tomorrow.
I watched a program on TV recently and different people were asked why they think people take these drugs even when there are adverts of several warnings about their adverse health effects mentally, physically, and even the lives of their loved ones, while some attributed these drugs to be a form of enhancer to make them work or study better, some blamed the current hardship situation of our country is the reason they went the route of drugs to take their mind off their depressing situation temporarily, and when the effects wear off, they keep going for more and before you know it, addiction has kicked in, making it hard for them to stop, and even the condition they thought they were in that would have hopefully gotten better or be managed, becomes worst as addiction not only affects their health but also their finances.
The most painful experience I've seen someone go through and still suffering the same consequences happened in my sophomore year in the university, I had a course mate whom I would just refer to as V in this post, he was very intelligent, in fact the brightest in class, right from our first year, what others found difficult to understand, trust V to see it as a piece of cake, so as expected, he gained popularity in class for his intelligence, and when our result were out, he always topped the class with a heading first class CGPA, but sadly, pressures from bad friends ruined that star, it was a shocking day for everyone, when the story of V becoming mentally unstable spread across the faculty, some attributed it to over reading or his village people which is a common slang in Nigeria, but with further investigation, the truth was revealed that he had been indulging in some drug habit with some bad friends he made and got overdosed by some wicked and jealous friend who ran away when their devilish plan succeeded.
They were apprehended, but that did not bring back the brightest student in the class, it broke everybody's heart to hear the news that he had been taken to a mental/psychiatric hospital in his village as his parent could not afford a better hospital in the city, and he was even on scholarship while in school.
The news shook us to the core that a campaign was organized among us to spread the news to other students, especially the freshers to be aware of the kind of friends they make while in school and to stay away from anything drugs, and when they feel pressurized, there were authorities to report to. V's case is just one of the numerous victims of students across the nation who has suffered same fate, I just hope a lot of people learn from this story and Say NO! to drug abuse in what ever form.
Recent studies even proved that the common "marijuana" often referred to as "Igbo" here in my country causes low sperm count, in order words infertility among men, so if you hope to have children in the future and still indulge, you have been warned, it's better to stop now, save your future generation, not just yourself alone.
This post is inspired by the #SeptemberInleo topic day 26, check it out and be inspired.