Youth And Drug Addiction

When the mention of illicit drug is made, all minds get focused on substances that either stimulate; such as cocaine or amphetamine, or inhibit; such as heroin or sedative-hypnotics, the central nervous system or cause hallucinogenic effects; such as marijuana,  to the effect that their use has been prohibited globally. While these drugs may be manufactured to tackle one health challenge or the other, its unusually regular usage outside medical prescription by a professional, constitutes an addiction that culminates to abuse.
The word “addiction” brings to mind different images for different people. It can be difficult for someone suffering with an addiction or potential addiction to identify with the term “addict.” And it can be especially trying for a young person.
Abuse and addiction play out when preferred substances are either readily available or provided at a reduced cost and most times packaged to the convenience of a single user. This is observed in the packaging of alcoholic beverages. Even at the resolution of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to end the packaging and selling of alcohol in sachet and small bottles to reduce its availability and curb abuse the constant appearance of hawkers carrying sachet alcoholic beverages among other sachet wares like sausage rolls and fruit juices, had always left much to be desired. Of a truth, this new trend in the alcoholic business, has not only boosted the trade, it has endangered many lives as it did not only make the product available, affordable, but also readily accessible to the underage.
No doubt, the consumption of illicit drug in which ever form it takes is the catalyst behind the heinous activities of renowned criminals in and around our neighborhood. Its effect remains the same irrespective of who consumes it. Many teens have had ideas about what an addict looks like: desperate, homeless, suicidal, criminal. With these ideas in mind, it’s hard for them to understand how their drug or alcohol use is a problem — after all, their consequences seem less extreme.
Joshua Azevedo, a writer on drug addiction and recovery, once published in Together AZ newspaper that the external effects of  drug addiction on someone  at age 16 are often much less severe or obvious. They might get in trouble at school, get grounded by their parents, fight with their friends or lose relationships. And they’ll often write off these consequences as other people’s problems, not seeing how their own behavior is a direct result of their substance use. Of course you can hear them often say things such as: “My parents are freaking out. If they would just chill out, everything would be fine,” “Everyone else is doing the same thing; I just got caught,” “I haven’t been using for that long,” or “I can stop whenever I want.” Combine false assumptions about addiction and placing blame on parents and other adults — and they have a ready-made excuse to distract them from taking an honest look at themselves and how their substance use is affecting their lives.
Just as teens do, parents have their own images of what someone with a drug problem looks like, and it can be as extreme as the child’s view. These preconceived notions help parents stay in denial of a potential problem. Plus, they lead to false measurement tools. Parents think, “If my kid had a problem, she’d be getting bad grades” or “Clean-cut polite kids don’t use drugs.” Parents can easily fall victim to the false belief that if their child is not behaving in a way the parent associates with addiction, then there is not a problem.
With parents, kids and others sharing this stigma about addiction, many drug problems slip through the cracks, and that allows for worst-case scenario circumstances to develop when the warning signs might have been there years earlier.
What does this all add up to? Addiction or not, drug or alcohol abuse is worthy of scrutiny by both the person using and his or her family. Worst-case scenarios are often avoidable by looking past preconceived ideas of addiction and looking honestly at the effects of substance abuse on the user’s life. If you or a loved one has been abusing drugs or alcohol, there is no need to wait until you are absolutely positive,  there is an addiction present to seek help or to stop using. Addicts are not the only people who benefit when they quit using drugs or drinking.
Many young people who have not crossed the line into addiction have stopped using and found happier, more fulfilling lives without experiencing the severity of long-term addiction.
Unfortunately, amidst global prohibition of its consumption, it is still obvious that drug abuse is a reality that lives with us now, which government and  some concerned non governmental organisations   are making efforts  to change the narratives. But must we concern ourselves with the teens and how to guide them against this ugly phenomenon? I think people who render humanitarian services must desist from drug consumption. The reason for which the sale of alcohol was banned in the motor parks appears lost if hawkers are allowed to take this forbidden wares to the drivers’ reach along the roads. This is tantamount to more carnages on our roads.
An alcohol sachet is a small sealed soft plastic pouch containing an alcoholic beverage. They are popular in Africa as a format for inexpensive liquor, and have been banned in several African nations due to concerns of public health and civil order.
When people drink alcohol, it travels through the body in their bloodstream. Organs such as the brain, which contain a lot of water and need an ample blood supply to work, are particularly affected by alcohol. Other organs, including the liver, the heart, the pancreas, and the kidneys, are also affected by alcohol within minutes after it enters the bloodstream.
The negative effects of irresponsible alcohol consumption on public health and on the safety and security of the public, alcohol being a toxic and psychoactive substance with dependence producing properties, cannot be overemphasized, the earlier this trend is nibbed in the bud, the better for all of us.
This is why Police officers must be prohibited from its consumption. The mere fact that they handle gun, makes it imperative that they avoid contact with drugs as that can either influence or determine their action.

By: Sylvia ThankGod-Amadi