It should be noted that drug addiction or substance abuse is not limited to the wealthy as we would like to assume.
Addiction, simply put, refers to a form of dependency, craving, compulsion, habit, weakness and even enslavement.
We are addicted to many things, but one source of addiction that comes to mind, is the device that you are reading this blog from. When I am not with my android, it feels like I am missing something; and when I am with it, I find myself always “using” it. I don’t even understand how we were living two decades ago. Ah! I am addicted to my phone; I cant be more than 30 minutes without it!
I have had to fight hard, concerning my battle with Coca-Cola. I am in a good place now, or at least that is how I console myself, LOL! I am no longer addicted to Coca-Cola; but if I have to be honest, I think I am becoming addicted to Diet-Coke. Funny isn’t it? Now, there are “theories” that insist that there is a substance of addiction in the “black water”. I beg to differ, I think its caffeine; and YES I love coffee. There are a number of Coffee addicts in the world, Starbucks can testify.
What of addiction to video games? Remember we have described it as a form of “dependency, and even enslavement”. I can tell you that a number of Generation Z folks, are quite “tech savvy “ and easily addicted to videogames.
Some people are addicted to food. Yes, food, and they spend decades battling with their weight.
Read Also: Mosebolatan - The audacity of death [Part ii ]
Sometimes addictions appear ‘harmless” and other times they can be out rightly destructive. This will affect not just the addict but his/her loved ones as well. I will be writing on drug or substance addiction and the signs a parent/guardian should look out for in their growing teenagers.
THE LIFE OF A TEENAGER
I think the teen years are the most difficult and confusing years of human existence. Now, this is just my opinion, but I believe that it is during these crucial years that a human is first exposed to the reality of the world that we live in. This is the phase where a lot of changes take place, physically, mentally and emotionally.
They are at crossroads, they don’t know whether they are “children or adults “; sometimes they want to do things and you say “you are still a child” then other times you say “grow up!” They deal with depression, stress, hormonal changes and they are quite vulnerable.
Therefore in this phase, they become exposed to different vices, and choices.
First of all, I should state that if the parent takes alcohol and smokes cigarettes, the children will likely try it as well, and this might occur in their teens or earlier. My first experience with cigarettes was at the age of 9, need I say more?
As a parent, please understand that your teenager will not only do as you say, he/she will want to do as you do. Because they are in the doing stage, Peer Pressure can encourage them towards anti-social and destructive vices.
STATISTICS OF ILLICIT DRUG ADDICTION: HOW BAD?
Illicit drugs are mind-altering substances and these include prescription drugs (e.g. Tramadol) that are misused.
In Kano State alone, according to an NDLEA 2014 report, over 30% of the population was convicted of some form of drug abuse.
It has been reported that over 500, 000 bottles of codeine are consumed daily by Nigerian youth. Of course, this is not a geo-political problem. In Delta State, the NDLEA uncovered a methamphetamine manufacturing company, which had 4 Mexicans arrested “on site”. Imagine that! In Nigeria!
What is more disturbing is the increase in the number of young girls using tramadol, benylin with codeine, crystal meth, marijuana etc, right underneath our noses, and if we do not pay attention, we will be facing impossible situations with our Wards, even as we begin to grow old and unable to protect them.
It should be noted that drug addiction or substance abuse is not limited to the wealthy as we would like to assume. The young homeless children on the streets of our cities and towns are likely targets of the drug cartel. They just want to be happy; they have nothing to loose. So they sniff glue, nail polish removers, sewer gas from pit latrines; smoke pawpaw leaves etc.
Read Also: The power of words
There was a med-rep of well known Pharmaceutical Company, caught on tape, boasting about how he supplies cartons of codeine syrup to “buyers” in Kano state.. Please do all Kano state indigenes have cough??
WHAT ARE THE SIGNS?
The senses of sight, smell, touch, hearing come to play here. (Note that I didn’t mention the sense of taste o). Then there is the good old intuition. There is an old saying that “if something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t “!
THE SENSE OF SMELL: DO YOU PERCIEVE ANY STRANGE ODOUR?
It’s rare for your teenager to have an experience with an illicit drug and come straight to tell you. If you begin to perceive any strange smell around the house, you want to know what that smell is.
THE SENSE OF SOUND and TOUCH: I like to believe that we all have “internal ears” and what we call Intuition. Gut feeling when it concerns your children should be attended to first and foremost, before you decide to discard it or otherwise.
THE SENSE OF SIGHT: WHAT CAN YOU SEE
If your otherwise jovial withdrawn becomes, always in his room. And sometimes with a dazed look, looking untidy. Steady B student’s grades begin to dwindle. Another indicator might be a change in behavior (probably anger and irritation tending towards violence). These are signs that you must not ignore.
Now, you do not need to be so suspicious, tending towards paranoia. Not every teenager is addicted to illicit drugs; HOWEVER, every teenager has the potential to be… be on the look out and seek help immediately, if need be.
Auntybspeaks.com gud to talk
Bo Adesoye is a Pharmacist turned Children’s Counselor and Educationist.