YOUTHFUL EXUBERANCE; DRUGS, THE ORDER OF THE DAY*
He got back looking so haggard, hyperactive, soaked in substance that must have been alcoholic, as the stench seemed. I could tell he must have had a lot of fun. He struggled to a chair, mumbled some words which we never seemed to understand, I think it wasn't English. Yes, I mean we - his roommates. I felt Bode was just trying out some jocular skits when he lifted up our 25litre keg in a bid to drink from it (Exactly! Directly from the keg). Whhaaaaa!!! Came water gushing down, with his mouth absorbing the little it could. "Yey!!! It's burning me. My heart! I'm seeing two-two! My body! I'm weak! It's like I want to die! No o, I cannot die! Haaa... I didn't want to do it oo! My daddy must not see me like this! I'm feeling mad..." What was wrong with Bode? we thought.
Bode has just tried out something new! Something he wanted to be involved in.
Each day passes by and the society is getting cursed with madness. Sanity is lost with every new development and morality is thrown to the bin at the sight of another. What once was right, is now tagged foolishness, and what once was an aberration, now a norm.
One pain in the neck of the society in recent times, is the issue of drug misuse and abuse amongst youth. Sadly, countless numbers of drugs are now being consumed by youngsters and children of all classes, associations, beliefs and what have you. Every day, over a 500,000 bottles of codeine are consumed by young Nigerians across the country, same with the intake of tramadol, rohypnol, marijuana, and other opioids, an alarming trend that has subtly eaten deeply into the Nigerian fabric with children of all classes having to abuse these drugs. But parents, stakeholders and the society continue to live in self-denial as a time bomb waits to explode, and when it explodes there might be no safe haven.
So many gets influenced by celebrities who would come on screen with certain bottles, talk fluently, and sometimes mention how they get inspiration through 'highness'.
Soon, they realise that these individuals take to mixtures of opioids and beverages. As ignorant as can be, this seems absolutely glamorous to them, they try it out, and love the feel. Unconsciously, they get hooked to tramadol and codeine.
They get so hooked that they believe that the day they stop taking tramadol they may die. "I used to take 100 milligram daily, but I realised my body is becoming resistant to it. Now I'm on 300mg daily. I have tried stopping but it hasn't worked out. The more I try the more I take it", said a 200 level University student aged 19.
"Surprisingly, no member of my family knows till date that I am into drugs. I often mash it into soft drinks, and no one has noticed in my house, not even my mum who is very interactive and observant."
Statistics show that since the past 10 years, there is significant increase in the use of substance by youths between the ages of 14 and 30, a scenario that suggests the region is on a time bomb waiting to explode if nothing is done to tackle it.
Kano Nigeria, is hub for substance abuse in the North
A university Don and Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nelson Ochekpe, has disclosed that recent research suggests that over 60 per cent of substance abuse occurs in Northern Nigeria with Kano State being its major hub.
No wonder the former Director General, NDLEA, Olarewaju Ipinmisho, once raised the alarm that there is rising incidence of drug abuse in the North, saying specifically that seven out of 10 youths, especially in Kano are on drugs.
He believed no matter what government does for its people, if the youths are on drugs, effects of government benefits will not be felt.
This menace is beginning to eat deep into the University system, as a lot of youngsters now live solely dependent on the intake of these hard drugs. Some of those who perpetrate this act claim that it stimulates their learning ability, boost their Intelligence Quotient, helps to stay calm and focused, liberates them from the shackles of depression, help cope with multiple task, to mention but a few. This, they claim, only happens by getting 'high'. Painfully, many others are being influenced and inducted into the system daily, where in a gathering of peers they debate on who does drugs better.
It is so pathetic to contain, that Tertiary Institutions might just be grooming mentally deluded fellows whose only source of joy is to find solace and escape from reality in the abuse of what is supposed to be regular over-the-counter drugs or outright consumption of narcotics.
Drug abuse among Nigerian youths is as old as human existence. The habitual effect derives from unmitigated peer influence, parental negligence and government's inability to stem the tide for ages, are major concern threatening the wars against its control. Drugs are known to induce social vices, civil upheavals and other forms of criminalities. Many have fallen victims due to ignorance. Here are some effects of abuse and addiction to drugs such as cocaine, heroin, codeine, tramadol, weed, cigarettes, marijuana, and the like.
People use drugs, legal and illegal, because their lives are intolerably painful or dull. They hate their work and find no rest in their leisure. They are estranged from their families and their neighbors. It should tell us something that in healthy societies drug use is celebrative, convivial, and occasional, whereas among us it is lonely, shameful, and addictive. We need drugs, apparently, because we have lost each other.”
What these drugs do
Injuries
More deaths, illnesses and disabilities stem from substance abuse than from any other preventable health condition. Today, one in four deaths is attributable to illicit drug use. People who live with substance dependence have a higher risk of all bad outcomes including unintentional injuries, accidents, risk of domestic violence, medical problems, and death.
Drugs are chemicals that affect the body and brain. Different drugs can have different effects. Some effects of drugs include health consequences that are long-lasting and even permanent. They can even continue after a person has stopped taking the substance.
There are a few ways a person can take drugs, including injection, inhalation and ingestion. The effects of the drug on the body can depend on the way in which the abused drug is delivered. For example, the injection of drugs directly into the bloodstream have an immediate impact, while ingestion has a delayed effect. But all drugs of abuse affect the brain. They cause large amounts of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that helps regulate our emotions, motivation and feelings of pleasure, to flood the brain, causing a "high." Eventually, drugs can change how the brain works and interfere with a person's ability to make choices, leading to intense cravings and compulsive drug use. Over time, this behavior can turn into a substance dependency, or drug and alcohol addiction.
Today, more than 7 million people suffer from an illicit drug disorder, and one in four deaths results from illicit drug use. In fact, more deaths, illnesses and disabilities stem from effects of drug abuse than from any other preventable health condition. People suffering from drug and alcohol addiction also have a higher risk of unintentional injuries, accidents and domestic violence incidents.
Health Problems
These drugs weaken the immune system, increasing susceptibility to infections.
They cause cardiovascular conditions ranging from abnormal heart rate to heart attacks. Injected drugs can also lead to collapsed veins and infections of the blood vessels and heart valves.
Nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.
Seizures, stroke and widespread brain damage that can impact all aspects of daily life by causing problems with memory, attention and decision-making, including sustained mental confusion and permanent brain damage.
People who suffer from addiction often have one or more accompanying medical issues, which may include
•lung or cardiovascular disease,
•stroke,
• cancer,
• mental disorders.
Imaging scans, chest X-rays, and blood tests show the damaging effects of long-term drug abuse throughout the body. For example, research has shown that tobacco smoke causes cancer of the mouth, throat, larynx, blood, lungs, stomach, pancreas, kidney, bladder, and cervix in addition, some drugs of abuse, such as inhalants, are toxic to nerve cells and may damage or destroy them either in the brain or the peripheral nervous system.
Effects On The Brain
Although initial drug use may be voluntary, drugs have been shown to alter brain chemistry, which interferes with an individual's ability to make decisions and can lead to compulsive craving, seeking and use. This then becomes a substance dependency.
Drugs causes unusual large amounts of dopamine to flood the system.
This flood of dopamine is what causes the "high" or euphoria associated with drug abuse.
•Behavioural Problems
•Paranoia
•Aggressiveness
•Hallucinations
•Addiction
•Impaired Judgment
•Impulsiveness
•Loss of Self-Control
However, individuals involved in this scandalous act can be salvaged by taking vital steps and measures to break free from the shackles which spells doom. It is important to visit health care centres, seek assistance and counsels, and ultimately, live right.
A society who's future - the youths are drug barons and addicts, might just be embracing madness. Imagine a society filled with psychologically derided fellows - where in order to survive the madness, you become a part of it. The time bomb might detonate soon and when it does, the fire might catch up with all.
If you want to understand a society, take a good look at the drugs it uses. And what can this tell you about American culture? Well, look at the drugs we use. Except for pharmaceutical poison, there are essentially only two drugs that Western civilization tolerates: Caffeine from Monday to Friday to energize you enough to make you a productive member of society, and alcohol from Friday to Monday to keep you too stupid to figure out the prison that you are living in.”
Yes! Bode was influenced by his peers and he had several doses and mixtures of narcotics and opioids in a bid to have fun. We had no choice, as peace keeping citizens, than to bind him hands and feet until he gain consciousness back to earth from the planet 'highness'.
Say no to drug abuse!
Live right!