Prevalence of Hard Drug Use Among Youths in Anambra East Lga, Anambra State of Nigeria
CHAPTER ONE
Objective of the study
The objectives of the stud are;
- To know the effect of hard drug among youth of Anambra East LGA
- To find out the purpose of the hard drug taken by youth of Anambra East LGA
- To find out the consequences of taking hard drug among youth
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
SPECIFIC DRUGS AND THEIR EFFECTS
Alcohol
Alcohol is contained in drinks such as beer, wine, brandy, spirits and whisky. It is an extremely potent drug. It acts on their body primarily as a depressant and lowers down the brain activity. However, in low doses it can be a stimulant. If used in excess, it will damage or even kill body tissues including muscles and brain cells. Its consumption causes a number of marked changes in behaviour. Even low doses impair judgement and coordination. With extreme intoxication the drinker may lapse into comma. Alcohol has produced many enjoyable moments and sad ones as well. The street names used for alcohol include: booze, pints, slaush, brew and jolly juice. If combined with other depressants of the central nervous system, much lower doses of alcohol will produce the effect just described. Repeated use can lead to dependency. Sudden withdrawal of alcohol intake is likely to produce withdrawal symptoms including severe anxiety, tremors, hallucinations and convulsions. Alcohol withdrawal can be life threatening. Long term consumptions particularly when combined with poor nutrition can led to permanent damage to vital organs such as the brain and the liver. Mothers who drink alcohol during pregnancy may give birth to infants with fetal alcohol syndrome. These infants have irreversible physical abnormalities and mental retardation. In addition research indicates that children of alcoholic parents are at greater risk of becoming.
Tobacco
Tobacco comes in form of cigarettes, cigars, snuff and in smokeless tobacco. Cigarettes are considered a gateway drugs-a drug first experimented with before trying other drugs with greater psychoactive effects. Smokers are more likely than non-smokers to contract heart disease. Lungs, larynx, oesophagus, bladder, pancreatic and kidney cancer also strike smokers. Smoking during pregnancy poses serious risk. Spontaneous abortion, preterm birth, low birth weight and fatal and infant deaths are all more likely to occur when the pregnant woman is a smoker. The most dangerous substance in tobacco is nicotine. Although it is implicated in the onsets of heart attacks and cancer, its dangerous roles is reinforcing and strengthening the desire to smoke. Because nicotine is highly addictive, addicts find it very difficult to stop smoking. The likelihood of contracting lung cancer is greatly reduced by quitting smoking. The street names used for tobacco include cigs, smokes, mozo, fegi and butts.
Cannabis
It is commonly known as bhang. Also known as marijuana and hashish (cannabis resin). Cannabis is a bisexual stalk plant with green leaves and grows wild in many parts of the country. The cultivation of the herbal cannabis commonly known as bhang is spread throughout the country especially. Cannabis is grown in forests, hilly terrain, river banks or concealed among other crops far away from homes. Chemical spraying is to be recommended for eradication. All forms of cannabis have negative, physical and mental effects. Substantial increase in heartbeat, blood shot eyes, a dry mouth and throat and increased appetite are characteristics of its use. Use of cannabis may impair of reduce short term memories and comprehension, alter sense of time and reduce ability to perform tasks requiring concentration and coordination for example driving. Research shows that those use them like students do not retain knowledge when under influence. Motivation and cognition may be altered making the acquisition of new information difficult. Marijuana can also produce paranoia and psychosis.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design
The researcher used descriptive research survey design in building up this project work the choice of this research design was considered appropriate because of its advantages of identifying attributes of a large population from a group of individuals. The design was suitable for the study as the study sought to Prevalence of Hard Drug use among youths in Anambra East LGA, Anambra state of Nigeria
Sources of data collection
Data were collected from two main sources namely:
(i)Primary source and
(ii)Secondary source
Primary source:
These are materials of statistical investigation which were collected by the research for a particular purpose. They can be obtained through a survey, observation questionnaire or as experiment; the researcher has adopted the questionnaire method for this study.
Secondary source:
These are data from textbook Journal handset etc. they arise as byproducts of the same other purposes. Example administration, various other unpublished works and write ups were also used.
Population of the study
Population of a study is a group of persons or aggregate items, things the researcher is interested in getting information on Prevalence of Hard Drug use among youths in Anambra East LGA, Anambra state of Nigeria. 200 residents in Anambra East LGA was selected randomly by the researcher as the population of the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION ANALYSIS INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Introduction
Efforts will be made at this stage to present, analyze and interpret the data collected during the field survey. This presentation will be based on the responses from the completed questionnaires. The result of this exercise will be summarized in tabular forms for easy references and analysis. It will also show answers to questions relating to the research questions for this research study. The researcher employed simple percentage in the analysis.
DATA ANALYSIS
The data collected from the respondents were analyzed in tabular form with simple percentage for easy understanding.
A total of 133(one hundred and thirty three) questionnaires were distributed and 133 questionnaires were returned.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to ascertain Prevalence of Hard Drug use among youths in Anambra East LGA, Anambra state of Nigeria
In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of Prevalence of Hard Drug use among youths in Anambra East LGA, Anambra state of Nigeria
Summary
This study was on Prevalence of Hard Drug use among youths in Anambra East LGA, Anambra state of Nigeria. Three objectives were raised which included: To know the effect of hard drug among youth of Anambra East LGA, to find out the purpose of the hard drug taken by youth of Anambra East LGA and to find out the consequences of taking hard drug among youth. In line with these objectives, two research hypotheses were formulated and two null hypotheses were posited. The total population for the study is 200 residents in Anambra East. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made up students, youths, men and women were used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies.
Conclusion
The study showed that drug/substance abuse is a threat to the general public as well as to the youth still in school and those specifically out of school. It is therefore evident that drug/substance abuse among the youth must be fought in all ways so as to bring down drug/substance related problems at all levels in the society. Thus, drug/substance abuse among the youth is common and spells danger not only to the youth who abuse the drugs but also to the well being of society and whole the nation at large.
Recommendation
This acknowledges the initiatives on the ground both done by the government and non-government organizations ranging from policy making, implementation, enactment and enforcement of laws, signatory with other nations on drug abuse, advocacy by lobbying on this issue, awareness campaigns, rehabilitation and training.
REFERENCES
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- Ali, R. (2010). Taking risks by examining our practice: Encouragement to address the couple relation. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 15 (2), 147 – 150.
- British Columbia Council for Families, Canada (2009). Young Parents: The Importance of Support and Recognition. Retrieved June 15, 2010, from http://www.bccf.ca/all/resources/young-parents-importance-support-and-recognition
- Bamberg, J., Toumbourou, J., & Marks, R (2008). Including the siblings of youth substance abusers in a parent-focused intervention: a pilot test of the BEST Plus program. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 40 (3), 281–291
- Bancroft, A., Wilson, S., Cunningham-Burley, S., Backett-Milburn, K., & Masters, H. (2004). The effect of parental substance abuse on young people. University of Edinburgh: Centre for Research in Families and Relationships. Retrieved May 22, 2010, from http://www.jrf.org.uk/publications/effect-parental-substance-abuse-young-people.
