KANO : The hotspot for drugs in Nigeria

In Nigeria, the abuse of all types of drugs has
increased drastically over the past decade. The
nation's youth constitutes the group most at risk
from serious problems associated with addiction.
Kano, the largest city in northern Nigeria, has the
highest rate of drug abuse in the country, 

according to the National Drug Law Enforcement
Agency (NDLEA) figures for seizures of drugs,
convictions of drug dealers and arrests of drug
addicts.
In Kano State, 37% of the population are drug
abusers. The NDLEA has warned of serious
consequences to society if the task of destroying
the culture of drug abuse and its supply chain
does not immediately begin to bear fruit.
Saving a generation
Nigeria has made great progress in stemming the
supply of drugs with high profile arrests of
traffickers, seizures of drugs, the destruction of
cannabis farms and closures of laboratories used
for the clandestine manufacture of drugs. In
2013, 8,324 men and 529 women were
investigated after being suspected of drug
trafficking. Mrs Roli Bode George, the NDLEA
Director General, said that her mission was to
vigorously pursue the Agency's vision of a drug-
free society.
This is a problem that does not discriminate
between rich and poor, old and young. Peer
pressure is one of the major factors that need to
be addressed in any effective programme aimed
at controlling drug abuse, and mothers must
realise that from a very early age children need
to be watched carefully for deviant behaviour and
be protected from the influence of older children
involved with drugs.
A war on many fronts
The abuse of drugs is not confined to urban
areas, and the NDLEA is working alongside the
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
(UNODC) and the European Union (EU) to ensure
that services to help addicts and users are also
available in rural areas and are up to
international standards.
Cannabis and Indian hemp are the most
commonly abused drugs in Nigeria, although
heroin, c*****e, amphetamines, ephedrine and
ketamine are also brought in by the traffickers,
and there is a range of products that are more
easily obtained and are cheaper and not illegal,
such as organic solvents, cough syrups and
horse stimulants, all of which are unpredictable
in their effects and can be highly dangerous. The
so-called 'bath salts' contain the active
ingredients methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDVP)
and cathinone—the latter is a stimulant similar
to amphetamine and which is also found in Khat.
Bath salts are sold as a synthetic hallucinogen, a
cheaper substitute for c*****e or LSD and which
can produce extreme paranoia and violence in
the user. An essential part of the drug abuse
problem is that people who want to take drugs
as an escape for their lives will reach for
whatever is available, ignoring the health risks.
Source:- Ack City News