AS the world commemorates the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on Tuesday, experts have raised alarm that incidences of drug abuse in the country has increased by 25 per cent in the last two years.Most worrisome, according to them, is that more children are getting involved in alcohol and substance abuse, portending more danger to the drug addict population.Consultant Psychiatrist at the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital (FNPH) Yaba, Lagos, Dr. Moses Ojo noted that an estimate on drug abuse patients at the Lagos hospital had shown an increase from 265 to 328 between May 2010 and May 2012.Besides the increase, also of note is the increase use of dangerous drugs like heroine and cocaine in the last one year.Ojo who spoke at the drug day commemoration by Population Council Nigeria, said: 'Unlike cannabis that used to be the main source of worry in the past, we have seen opiates and cocaine use increase from 5.2 per cent to 11.6 per cent in the last 12 months.'Multiple drug abuse has become very rampant especially the abuse of alcohol in combination with other substances,' he said.The psychiatrist who works at the Drug Abuse Unit, FNPH added that while drug abuse had become a major problem in the country, the government and stakeholders were still unaware of the 'looming danger.''We have a problem that is just starting. Unfortunately the government is not aware or not just paying attention to it. One of the problems is the insecurity that we are now seeing. Drug abuse contributes a lot to violence and crime in our country.'Ojo said further that the economic hardship that people are faced with was a major problem. 'Poverty has been linked with drug abuse. When people are poor, unemployed, under-employed, lack infrastructural facilities for easy life, family dysfunction and the upsurge of social media that allows more knowledge on very dangerous things, all expose the populace to drug abuse,' he said.Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is a maladaptive patterned use of a substance (drug) in which the user consumes the substance in amounts or with methods not condoned by medical professionals.Around 200 million people in the world take drugs at least once a year. Of these, 25 million are regarded as drug dependent. No fewer than 200,000 people die from drug-related illnesses in the world.Addiction psychiatrist at Kensington Treatment Centre, Cape Town, South Africa, Dr. Taiwo Akindipe explained that one of the major challenges was that younger people of about eight years of age were getting more exposed to substance and alcohol abuse, increasing the number of addicts as they grow older.'In the 90s we were worried that teenagers were increasingly getting involved with drugs. But today, young people from the age of eight years are beginning to start using drug. That portends a very dangerous trend for us because we do not have any care facility or programme to take care of the problem when it comes.'Akindipe, who spoke on how to prevent drug abuse in the society, said it is worthy of note that substance abuse is actually preventable and addiction treatable.The best strategy of prevention, however, is to delay the onset of abuse of dangerous substances by individuals.'Those that are already exposed should be prevented from becoming addicts, because the cost of treatment is still far from what the country can afford.'On enforcing legislation to curb the rate of demand and supply of drugs, Akindipe noted that Nigeria actually had got a whole lot of laws that are currently not implemented.'There are laws from the 60s on supply reduction; laws prohibiting planting of cannabis; trafficking; even smoking in public places but the problem is their non-implementation. And if they are not implemented, it is like not having them at all.'Strategies proffered at the event attended by representatives Population Council Nigeria, Freedom Foundation and CADAM among others were the call for improved awareness on the problem of drug abuse; enforcement of laws to reduce demands and supply of illicit substances and improve socio-economic conditions.Others are drug education in schools curriculum; creation of more rehabilitation, detoxification centres and self-help groups; sustainable treatment programmes and funding of research and data collection.Former drug addicts who shared their experiences at the event were unanimous that effective treatment for those already addicted is the combination of spiritual, medical and psychological therapies.
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