George Onyejiuwa, Owerri
Registrar of the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria, Elijah Mohammed has raised the alarm that 14.3 million Nigerians mostly youths have been involved in illicit drugs use, with cannabis (Indian hemp) the most frequently abused.
Mohammed said use and misuse of narcotics, psychotropics and other substances have assumed a frightening dimension in the country.
This was even as Imo Governor, Emeka Ihedioha, has pledged to partner with the Council; to fight the scourge of drug abuse in the state, especially in secondary and tertiary institutions.
The PCN boss, who disclosed this at an advocacy workshop on drugs and substance abuse in Nigeria, for the South East zone, for secondary school students, held at the weekend in Owerri, capital of Imo state, said the rate of use and misuse of drugs in the country, especially among youths have become alarming and that the workshop was organised as part of the Council’s mandate to regulate and control pharmaceutical products as well as enlighten the populace on the implication of use and misuse of drugs and substances.
“The Drug Use Survey report, released in January, was the first ever comprehensive, nationwide survey which examined the extent and patterns of drug use in the country.
According to this report, the drug use prevalence in Nigeria is 14.4 percent or 14.3 million people between the ages of 15- 64 years.
This is comparatively higher when compared to global prevalence rate of 5.5 percent as per WDR 2019.