DRUG ABUSE/ADDICTS IN THE SOCIETY: THE ROLE OF , COUNSELLING PSYCHOLOGISTS

Abstract

Drug use is not alien to Nigerians however; narcotic drug now gaining grounds among the citizenry. Nigerians were couriers in the Sixties and Seventies, but that cannot be said of today where they use and abuse these drugs (both narcotic and psychoactive). The route of administering drugs can adversely affect the health of the users, the attendant consequences on the economy are enormous. The consequences of these acts can pose a threat to the nascent democracy. The purpose of this paper is to discuss among other things what motivate youths to take to drugs. Explain drug abuse/ addiction and its effects on the individual, home and the society and examine the role of counselling psychologists in that direction in terms of alleviating the problem. It was recommended that information about drug use and consequences should be disseminated to the youths who are mostly affected. Getting them more involved in school-based and non-school based activities will do a lot o f good in lowering incidence of drug use and getting drugless.