•Dr. Bolajoko Malomo
Worried by the damage caused by the use of hard substances, especially Colorado, to youths, Head of Psychology Department, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Dr. Bolajoko Malomo, has advised the Nigerian government to ensure the availability of social services that monitor activities of young people in the country.
Speaking exclusively with our correspondent, Dr. Malomo, who is an associate professor in UNILAG, also urged the government “to provide all-round free education for students so that parents who cannot afford to send their children to schools will enroll them in places where they will be actively engaged,” reports Daily Independent.
She stated that “when youths are idle, they associate freely with street children,” adding that “when they are engaged, there will be a decline in the number of drug users, because they will have less idle period.”
Lamenting the negative effects of substances on youths, Malomo said that the “brain is an important organ of the body, which transmits information to all the other parts of the body.”
Noting that drugs bring about a chemical reaction, which takes place in the brain, the UNILAG don added that “human beings react to drugs differently as a result of the chemical reaction.”
She said that some youths indulge in drug use and other substance abuse, because they say “it gives them a certain feeling, as different drugs give different feelings.”
What is common to all of them, according to her, “is that they claim it increases their mood and makes them ‘happier’ sort of. It just makes them feel better than they would be if ordinarily they do not use drugs.”
According to her, “They feel that taking drugs gives them that confidence, that energy, fearless feeling to talk to people, a feeling that they would not have had without drugs. And these are reactions that involve the brain.
“Also, some people are shy and they feel that taking drugs will bring them out of that shyness and give them the confidence to say anything. They feel that taking drugs can make them have a sense of belonging to a group of people, who ordinarily, they would not associate with.”
Dr. Malomo said that one of the reasons of drug use is that “there’s the perception of relating drug use to high academic performance among the youth, as they believe that taking drugs will make them to have a retentive memory when they read.
“They tie drug use to activate and retentive memory, which is not true.”
She said that when someone indulges in substance use, as time goes on, the need to increase the dosage will arise, and to get that performance will lead to addiction.
Malomo stated drug use affects students, making them to have “paranoia,” which is the consequence of stimulants.
According to her, “The body temperature increases when you take drugs and this is related to some things.”
On what future awaits them if they continue in the act, the psychologist said that unfortunately, “Drug is a substance that needs to be increased with constant usage, you cannot say it has a particular dosage. The body reacts to it, gets used to it and asks for more.”
She lamented that to maintain the feeling which drug gives them, youths get involved in all vices for a possible way out to get it, which may lead to negative consequences like stealing or prostitution.
“They may not want to take it, but once they begin to get withdrawal syndrome, they will take it to satisfy their body needs.”
She said that “once they keep taking drugs, it will lead to a decline in their academic performances, which affects youths a lot because drugs make them react in a certain way.
“Instead of concentrating on their academics, they concentrate on how to get money to buy hard drugs. When they take drugs, they go into a quiet mood, it’s either they sleep off, or they just are just inactive because it will make them feel in a certain way. Their academics suffer, time to study suffers and there’s every possibility that their grades will begin to decline.”
The don also lamented that drug use affects their physical health “because when a youth takes drugs and drives, there is every tendency of being involved in an accident.”
She added that “they lose consciousness, some fall into the gutter, misbehave while some sleep on the road.”
“Again, there’s increased risk of death through suicide,” she said, adding that “some who work are always absent at work and or are not punctual. They have mood swings as they sometimes sleep late and arrive late to work, or are not at work.”
Another side effect of hard drugs on the youth, Dr. Malomo said, is the “easy access to transmission of HIV AIDS because of the needles that they use to inject themselves with drugs, they have carnal knowledge of one other, which can result to unwanted pregnancies.
“Once they are addicted, they can do anything because withdrawal syndrome can make them do anything to access drugs.”
To avoid these, Dr. Malomo also advised that parents should concentrate on their children, adding that “when children begin to withdraw and stay alone, it calls for suspicion that something is wrong. “That’s a period of withdrawal or when they just took the drugs. Drugs have to act by calming them down and they want to be on their own.”
The don, who advised parents to also monitor when there is a change in their children’s eating habit, added: “When parents start noticing changes, they need to act. Parents need to talk to their children, and monitor the company that they children keep because peer pressure is an important aspect that leads to drug use.”
She also advised that parents should avoid the use of substances to show good examples to their children.
Kunle Audu, one of the youths in Lagos, who responded to our correspondent, said that the users engage in it to relieve stress, which is caused by unemployment and the economic hardship in Nigeria.
Kehinde Jacob, another youth, said that peer pressure and having a sense of belonging to a group in his Jibowu community, forced him into the use of hard drugs.
Jacob, who advised youths to shun drug usage, added: “There’s no gain in the usage of hard drugs. If you start using drugs and get addicted to it, quitting becomes a problem, which I am currently facing.”
