I am worried. Yes, you read that right. This time it’s not about money, it’s about drugs.
Did you know that a recent research shows that “a prevalence of 20-40% and 20.9% of drug abuse was reported among students and youths, respectively (see ref. at the end of this article)?”
Did you also know that “commonly abused drugs include cannabis, cocaine, amphetamine, heroin, diazepam, codeine, cough syrup and tramadol?”
Though there are several campaigns against drug trafficking and drug abuse by government agencies and non government agencies alike, the reality on ground shows that drug abuse continues to soar.
Part of the problem is that not many government agencies are committed to actually doing something to remedy the situation.
It would seem that our government is grossly incapable of handling most of the problems of young people.
What’s even more worrisome is that drug abuse has become a culture among the young in many quarters.
Go through social media, and you’ll notice that there are many young people who aren’t the least bothered about being streamed in the very act of smoking/inhaling all kinds of drugs.
This needs to change.
Months ago, I met an innocent looking teenager in a parish. At first glance, I thought she was heart-broken, distraught and depressed. She looked so sad and lost.
I was wrong.
My second guess was that she was haunted by demons, and needed some sort of deliverance.
I was also wrong.
Turned out that she was under the influence.
As our conversation gained depth, she admitted to excessive drug abuse. For her, it was something she did for fun with her friends, on most days (and nights).
I couldn’t keep track of the names she reeled out. But I can assure you that none of the drugs I mentioned earlier made her list.
Which means there are probably newer drugs out there that many of us older folks know nothing about. Or, that the same old substances have simply been given code names to confuse the majority of us.
Whatever be the case, I concluded that our young friend needed immediate help.
Drug addiction is difficult to break, and as far as I know, there aren’t many friendly facilities out there in our beloved country that care for drug addicts.
As a Church, we have to look into this area.
Many of our young people are frustrated by almost everything in their immediate environment, and many more are resorting to hard substances to enable them deal.
What are we doing about this problem?
© Oselumhense Anetor, 2021.
REFERENCE
