Drug Abuse: Expert advises drug education in schools curriculum

A medical expert, Mrs Ada Okafor, has advocated for a design of a curricular on drug education to check the prevalence of drug and substance abuse in the country.

Okafor, who advocated this on Wednesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Awka, said this had become imperative to check the trend among adolescents and teenagers in the country.

She said that teens are more affected by drugs because they have chemically naïve brains not exposed to alcohol or drugs.

She added that in view of this, the neurochemical effects of these substances on adolescents and teenagers who are ignorant of the dangers of drug abuse are intense on their brains.

She said that if the Ministry of Education could design a curricular on drug education for schools, it would help to check the causes of drug abuse which include peer pressure, academic stress, experimental curiosity, as well as personality problems due to socio-economic status of family.

Okafor, an Assistant Director, Pharmaceutical Services, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, Anambra, also said that the prevalence of drug and substance abuse among adolescents and teenagers could hinder their development.

She stressed that drug abuse is a serious concern to individuals, families, societies and governments all over the world.

She added that the situation requires urgent attention to find curative measures to save young adults from destruction.

According to her, many of the victims of drug abuse engage in this hazardous past time out of frustration, poverty, lack of parental supervision, peer influence and pressure, among other variables.

“But with effective supervision, counselling strategies and treatment programmes both at the family and government levels, the menace can be tackled.”

She called on parents, especially mothers, to be involved in their teen’s activities, such as holding quality discussions with them from time to time, and more importantly discussing ill effects of drugs freely with them.

Okafor urged parents to educate their adolescent children on how to resist peer pressure and walk away from peers that use illicit drugs.