-
Prevalence Of And Motivation For Drug Abuse
CHAPTER TWO -- [Total Page(s) 14]
Page 7 of 14
-
-
-
Prevalence of Drug Abuse
A drug is a substance used for medical purposes that change the state or function of the body (Coleman, 2010). Drugs are substances which alter the organic functions and the behavior of those who take them (Melgosa, 2005). Drugs are chemical or substance that change the ways one’s body works. When one puts them into his/her body (often by swallowing, inhaling or injecting them), drugs find their way into blood stream and are transported to parts of the body, such as brain. In the brain, drugs may intensify or dull one’s sense, alter sense of alertness and sometimes decrease physical pain (Durani, 2012).
Carroll (1989) defined drug as any substance which upon entering the body can change either the function or structure of the organism. On the other hand, drug abuse is a situation when one takes drugs in contrary to the prescription. It is the use of illicit drugs or the abuse of prescription or over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. Carroll (1989), define drug abuse as the deliberate use of chemical substances for reasons other than intended medical purposes and which results in physical, mental, emotional, or social impairment of the user. The abuse of legal drugs can happen when people use the drugs in manner other than directed by the manufacturers or purpose that are not legitimate (Coleman, 2010).
Basically, drugs are of two groups i.e legally approved drug and illegal or legally disapproved drugs. Legally approved drugs are drugs which have through the ages become a part of the society and had remained (Ballas, 2006). These are drugs that are open to public consumption such as tobacco and alcohol. In some cultures, these drugs are not only tolerated, but their consumption is explicitly encouraged (Melgosa, 2005). However, due to large qualities of these drugs being taking in and out of the country, the government imposed imports duties on them. Illegal drugs are drugs like heroin, cocaine, morphine etc. they are hard drugs dangerous to physical, mental and social well being of the users. Abusement of any of the two groups of drug affect the brain and its functions, leave harmful chemical remain in the body and they create a habit (Melgosa, 2005).
Moronkola (2003) pointed out that some substances alter the mind, changed the users feeling, perception and behavior when they are used because they exert action on the brain. Global studies on drug use and abuse revealed that initiation of drug use is one of the best predictor of future drug abuse and dependence (Coleman, 201). That is, youths who started using drug before the age of 14 are more susceptible to drug problems later in life than those whose drug use started at the age of 21 and above.
In the global report of WHO on substance use disorder, Dr. Shekhar Saxena, director of WHO’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse stated that “Alcohol and illicit drugs are harming millions of people in many ways from becoming dependants on such substance to causing a range of other health problems such as injuries, cardiovascular disease, HIV and hepatitis C or cancers†(Garwood, 2010). Further still, reported the following key findings
• Alcohol and illicit drug use account for 5.4% of the world’s annual disease burden, with tobacco responsible for 3.7%.
• Two thirds of the world countries have a government unit or official responsible for treating substance use disorders, and under 50% have a specific budget for treating such disorders.
• In Africa, out-of-pocket payments are the main funding method for treating alcohol and drug use disorders.
• African is also only WHO region with the fewest countries with substance abuse policies (Garwood, 2010).
According to Hughes and Carolyn (2011), significantly less than half of the world population is involved in serious drug related crime. From the above findings, it is crystal clear that drug abuse is a global problem that has permeated the sphere of our economic, political and social life.
Particularly in Nigeria, the prevalence of drug use and abuse among youths result from political instability and lack of policy measures which give room for criminal organization for illicit drugs trafficking. In the early 70’s, drug trafficking were rare. The story began to change in the 1980 when Indian heroin began to be funneled through Nigeria on its ways to Europe. The criminal groups handling the wares soon forged alliance with South American illicit drug manufacturers and added cocaine to the drug they were distributing (Narconon Drug Information Department, 2013). In the 1990’s the criminal groups became more sophisticated. Cannabis began to be produced within Nigeria and psychotropic drugs were added to the list of trafficked products. Trafficking channels became more complex and methods of moving drugs more diverse. In 1999, 16,000kg of cannabis herb and 15.6kg of cocaine were seized, in 2000 this increase to 272,000kg of cannabis and 54kg of cocaine. In 2007, the rate of marijuana, seizure landed Nigeria in the number four spot after USA, Mexico and Bolivia. A review of drug seizures in the first half of 2009 shows that Nigerian are still frequently arrested for drug trafficking incidence around the world (Narconon Drug Information Department, 2013).
In addition, Nigeria Drug law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in 2010 and 2011 seized 67,979.80kg and 55,472.967kg of cannabis and discovered 36.7 and 147 hectares of Indian hemp farm respectively in Ondo State (Anafi, 2011). Also in 2012, NDLEA intercepted 227.055kg of drug at Muritala International Airport, Lagos in the first half of the year. These drugs were seized from 63 suspects trafficker which worth N2.5 billion. The breakdown of the seized drugs was cannabis 73.350kg, metaphetamine 46.25kg, cocaine 43.505kg, heroin 33.15kg and ephedine 31.8kg (Bakare, 2012).
CHAPTER TWO -- [Total Page(s) 14]
Page 7 of 14
-
-
ABSRACT - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]ABSTRACT COMING SOON ... Continue reading---
APPENDIX A - [ Total Page(s): 2 ]UNIVERSITY OF ILORINFACULTY OF EDUCATIONCOUNSELLOR EDUCATION DEPARTMENTPrevalence of and Motivation for Drug Abuse Questionnaire (PMDAQ)Dear Respondent, This instrument is designed to elicit information on the prevalence of, and motivation for drug abuse among students of tertiary institutions in Kwara State, Nigeria. Your sincere responses to each of the items will be highly appreciated as all information supplied will be treated with utmost confidentiality and be used strictly for the re ... Continue reading---
CHAPTER ONE - [ Total Page(s): 6 ]The American Psychiatric Association (2010) referred to substance abuse as maladaptive patterns of substance use leading to clinical significant impairment or distress, as manifested by one (or more) of the following, occurring within a 12 month period: recurrent substance use resulting in a failure to fulfill major role obligations at work, school, or home; recurrent substance use in situations in which it is physically hazardous; recurrent substance related legal problems; continued substance ... Continue reading---
CHAPTER THREE - [ Total Page(s): 2 ]Pilot Testing The pilot testing is used to determine the usability
of an instrument. To establish this, the instrument was administered to
ten students of the University of Ilorin, which did not form part of the
final respondents of the instrument. After administration, the
researcher interacted with the respondents, recorded their observation
about the instruments and effect necessary corrections.Psychometric Properties of the InstrumentAn instrument is considered appropriate when i ... Continue reading---
CHAPTER FOUR - [ Total Page(s): 7 ]Hypothesis Three:There is no significant difference in the prevalence of drug abuse among students of tertiary institutions on the basis of age.Table 7 indicates that the calculated t-value of 1.51 is less than the critical t- value of 1.96 at 0.05 alpha level. This indicates that there is no significant difference. Hence, the hypothesis is accepted. Therefore, there is no significant difference in the prevalence of drug abuse among students of tertiary institutions on the basis of age.Hypothesi ... Continue reading---
CHAPTER FIVE - [ Total Page(s): 4 ]Still on the basis of age, the hypothesis that there is significant difference in the motivation for drug abuse among students of tertiary institutions was accepted as no significant difference was found. It then indicates that respondents’ age has no influence in their motivation for drug abuse. Irrespective of their different age brackets, they tend to be motivated towards drug abuse by peer pressure, in order to work better and experiment how it works. The finding thus supports that of ... Continue reading---
REFRENCES - [ Total Page(s): 3 ]REFERENCESAaron, K., Robert, L., Reische, D., Barbara, V., Waggoner, S. & Wagger, H.(1982). Understanding health. New Jersey: Random House Visual Education Corporation. Abdullahi, O. (1995). Typology of research. In S. Jimoh (ed). Methodology: An inter disciplinary approach. Ilorin: Unilorin Library and Publication.Akindelly, B. (2009). Causes, effects and control of drug abuse in society.Retrieved July 22, 2013 from. http://www.voices.yahoo.com/causes-effects-control-drug-abuse-society. ... Continue reading---
