The legislation aimed at making mind-bending and mood-altering substances illegal is perhaps the most popular approach to drug control in Nigeria. However, the reality that compliance with norms is not just because of the existence of laws or their enforcement demands that legislation must be combined with or supported by other processes (like effective communication) in the quest to promote societal order and public safety and health. The limits of legislation and law enforcement in discouraging abuse of narcotics and other controlled substances necessitate the use of effective communication in form of Drug Abuse Preventive Education. Obviously, discouraging people from abusing controlled substances is a daunting challenge. The drug abuse scenario is however further complicated and compounded by the existence of some seemingly harmless and innocuous everyday household items, essential commodities and domestic goods that can be abused (misused or overused) to get the same euphoria or "high" associated with narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.The uncontrolled everyday substances that are commonly abused include, but not limited to, codeine-based cough syrups, tippex, rubber solution, organic solvents (petrol), lizard dung, zakami leaves, pit latrine fumes, millet roots, match head, battery cell water, and frog skin. It is instructive to add that this list of abused but uncontrolled substances lengthens every day as adventurous youths continue to experiment with substances in desperate search of mind-bending and mood-altering properties.These non-conventional drugs do not just mimic drugs in producing euphoria or "highs;" ingesting, smoking, sniffing or inhaling them also produces negative effects such as addiction, physical and psychological dependence, Accident Immunity Delusion Syndrome (AIDS), dementia, mental impairment and damage to essential body organs like the kidneys, the liver and lungs.For the aforementioned uncontrolled everyday items and domestic substances, abuse cannot be prevented through criminalisation because of the positive uses for which the goods were produced. The continued and increasing abuse of these everyday items and easily accessible goods, the use of which cannot be criminalised, does not only limit the role of legislation in drug abuse control, it makes effective communication not just an essential tool but an indispensable instrument for drug demand reduction. Thus, the widespread abuse of non-controlled everyday substances by those who wish to experience euphoria or "highs" locates communication and public education right at the centre of drug abuse control.There is therefore an urgent need for a well-funded planned, consistent and continuous communication programme to complement the law enforcement dimension of the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agencys activities in order to discourage illicit use of drugs. The need for sustainable drug demand reduction is widely acknowledged and recognised by the international community which continues to emphasise and advocate balanced approach to drug control: promoting equality of emphasis to both drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction. Like most developed and advanced countries, the United States of Americaout of enlightened national interestbudgets and spends billions of dollars to discourage her youth population from misuse and abuse of drugs.Nigeria needs a poly-media and multi-frontal communication programme to discourage its teeming youths from abusing both conventional hard drugs and non-conventional psychotropic substances. This mass awareness-raising campaign would involve engaging the mass media, drug-related non-governmental organisations, civil associations, school-based and out-of-school youth clubs. The campaign would entail public awareness using Information, Education and Communication materials, advertisements with billboards, posters and mobile vans as well as lectures, seminars, symposiums and workshops, rallies, road-shows, dramas and concerts. It is against this backdrop that the continuous neglect or relegation of effective communication in the war against drug abuse becomes very worrisome. The gross under-funding of the NDLEA has meant allocation of little resources and meagre manpower to drug demand reduction, as drug law enforcement consumes the severely limited resources of the agency.There has been no specific budgetary allocation to the NDLEA for drug demand reduction since 2008; yet, the need for drug demand reduction increases with the increasing tendency of Nigerias restless and adventurous youth population to experiment with a series of conventional and non-conventional drugs. Only a well-planned and adequately-funded communication war (massive drug education and drug abuse preventive education) can save the Nigerian population from the abuse of conventional narcotic drugs and the misuse of non-conventional psychotropic substances. Ajayi is the Director-General of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.
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