Drug abuse or dependence is defined as a state of psychological or physical dependence on a drug, following the administration of the drug on a periodic, continuous basis (WHO 2015).

Drug abuse constitutes the use of any substance under international control, outside therapeutic indications, at an excessive dose level, or over an unjustified period (Tupper, 2012).

People who indulge in drug abuse cannot be regarded as healthy and developed since abusers lose their potential to this activity. The consequences of drug abuse are multifarious and range from untimely deaths to suicides, road accidents, violent crimes, laziness, mediocrity, and subsequent impoverishment, which most of the time lead to broken homes, shattered dreams, wasted potential power as the abusers struggle to sustain the habit, and subsequently become burdens to themselves, their families, and society at large.

Unfortunately, young people who are supposed to shoulder Nigeria’s future development in terms of socio-economic aspects are constant promoters of this anti-social activity of drug abuse.

Historically, drug abuse in Nigeria dates back to the pre-colonial era, when men moved from being gardeners to farmers, cultivating intoxicants such as wine, strong tobacco and other hard substances.

Illicit drugs, as we know them today, are not of Nigerian origin; they were introduced by World War II veterans who fought in Malaysia and Burma. After the war, they returned with concealed packets of cannabis souvenirs. It was with this introduction that illegal cultivation of cannabis started across the country.

Types of drugs 

Alcohol

Amphetamine

Caffeine

Cannabis