From Desmond Mgboh, Kano
A total of 14.3 million Nigerians between the ages of 15 to 64 engage in one form of drug abuse or the other.
This was disclosed by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency ((NDLEA) at a workshop on “The Role of Medicine Dealers in Curtailing Drug Abuse and Trafficking “ organised for Sabon Garri Medicine Dealers in Kano, by the Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Reps on Narcotics.
Quoting statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics, an Assistant Commander of the agency in Kano, Munnir Mustapha, added that while drug use is prevalent among ages 25 to 39, one of every four drug users in Nigeria is a woman.
While shedding more light into the distribution, he noted that cannabis, popularly known as Igbo, is the most commonly abused drug in Nigeria with a population of 10.6 million indulging in it.
He added about 4.6 Nigerians had used opioids such as Tramadol codeine or morphine for non medical purposes, while an estimated 376,000 Nigerians indulge in high risk drug use.
The NDLEA boss regretted that all of these impact negatively on the individual drug users as well as on the Nigerian society in general, a situation that accounts for some of the ills in the land at the moment.
He regretted that one of every five Nigerians, who had used drugs in the past or at the moment is today suffering from one form of drug related health challenge or disorder.
He appealed to the medicine dealers to join hands with the regulatory authorities to fight drug abuse in the country by operating within the prescribed guidelines of their calling.