Drug Abuse ravages Uganda Youth as Leaders busy robbing the Country

Valerian Kkonde                                  

PEARL NEWS SERVICE

                                                

Police officers destroy a marijuana garden. Marijuana grows in all parts of Uganda except Kotido. PNS Photo

“In our group we used to call it nkoko. But other groups called it: kibaaba, kikoola, weed, kawala, ganja, cool guy, ganja…The big boys who lured us into drug abuse had told us that we would excel in class and in playing football. They told us that we would play like Cristiano Ronaldo or Wayne Rooney because they too use it. As we intensified our drug abuse, our performance deteriorated. Other children in school were distancing themselves from us, and called us bayaaye and thieves. We quit school," two young boys Mark

and David-their identity concealed- narrated to Pearl News Service their experience with drugs.

"Two of the big boys in that group are today real mad. Another boy was shot dead by Police along Nakivubo channel, near the car-washing bay, on Nsambya-Ggaba road. He had stolen a mobile phone and even stubbed its owner."

The experience of these two 13-year old boys illustrates the dilemma many children and youth find themselves in. Many

are excited by the drug dealers’ deliberate lies, which promise miracles after taking to drugs.

Disappointingly, the rewards are self-destruction. Drug abuse- the consistent use of drugs for non-medical grounds- has reached alarming levels in Uganda. The Anti Narcotics Unit of the Uganda Police indicates that, every year, drug abuse and trafficking keep increasing. Though illegal, one is bound to encounter drug abusers at every turn in broad day light as its smoking becomes more and more open.

Many of the women on Kampala’s streets, selling sweets and groundnuts, are stealthily also selling marijuana. Simply ask for “that thing” or Njagala akantu” and you will be surprised by the speed and ease with which she recovers rolled marijuana from her merchandise. That marijuana readily grows in all parts of Uganda, with the exception of Kotido, explains why even mad men can smoke it at every turn.

Reasons for taking to drugs differ from person to person. And they can be many: desire to fit into a certain group, and curiosity, are some of the reasons. Use of alcohol and illicit drugs by other family members plays a strong role in whether children start using drugs.

All aspects of a child's environment: home, school, neighbours- help to determine whether the child will try drugs. Children who become more heavily involved with marijuana can become dependent and that is their prime reason for using the drugs. Others mention psychological coping as a reason for their use to deal with anxiety, anger, depression, and boredom. Many youths say they take drugs because of stress!

But marijuana use is not an effective method for coping with life's problems, and staying high cannot be the way of dealing with problems and challenges of growing up.

Researchers have found that children and teens that are physically and sexually abused are at a greater risk than other young people of using marijuana and other drugs and of beginning drug use at early age.

                                                                                                                  

The Anti-Narcotic Unit maintains that the misconception that marijuana is a performance-enhancing drug is steadily becoming an excuse for its use. But available examples instead point to disaster, self-destruction and career ruin. Diego Maradona's glorious football career was brought to a humiliating end. The late Brenda Fassie ruined her musical career, and of recent Michael Jackson. The list of great sports personalities and other celebrities facing prison sentences, suspension and humiliation at the hands of drug abuse goes on and on.

Back home,  Andrew Mukasa, popularly known as Fimbo is a living example of how disastrous drug abuse can be. His mother maintains that it was marijuana that ruined his otherwise glorious football career.

Year after year records from the Anti-Narcotic Unit indicate that the situation in Uganda is moving from bad to worse. People as young as teenagers have become a nuisance because of drug abuse. The Unit further warns that drug abuse and drug trafficking are sure ways of destroying any attempts at rule of law and order. Other teenagers are real mad. Drug abuse has also been identified as the cause of some gruesome murders and other crimes. This stands as a warning that if you still take drug abuse lightly, it is a matter of time before you heavily pay for your negligence of this societal ill.

Marijuana is also known as Cannabis Sativa. Cannabis is a term that refers to marijuana and other drugs made from the same plant. Strong forms of cannabis include sinse milla (sin-se h-me-yah) hashish ("hash" for short) and hash oil.

All forms of cannabis are mind-altering (psychoactive) drugs; they all contain THC (delta-9-tetra hydrocannabinol), the main active chemical in marijuana. They also contain more than 400 other chemicals.

Marijuana's effect on the user depends on the strength or potency of the THC it contains.

Most ordinary marijuana has an average of 3% THC. Sinsemilla- made from the buds and flowering tops of the female plants- has an average of 7.5% THC, with a range as high as 24%. Hashish-the sticky resin from the female plant flowers-has an average of 3.6% with a range as high as 28%. Hash oil-a tar -like liquid distilled from hashish, has an average of 16% with an average as high as 43%.

Drug abusers are aware that their act is criminal. It is one reason why, just like traffickers, use slang terms to refer to a particular illicit drug. Slang terms are very many, change quickly and may even differ across sections of the community.

In spite of such terms, to confuse drug abuse, there are some signs, which can help in telling who is on illicit drugs and other psychotropic substances. A person on drugs can seem silly, dizzy, giggly, and have trouble walking. A person can also have very red, bloodshot eyes, and have a hard time remembering things that just happened.

When the early effects fade, over a few hours, the user can become very sleepy.

                                                                                                            

In addition one can detect drug abusers by signs of drugs and drug paraphernalia, including pipes and rolling papers, odour on clothes and in the bedroom. Likewise, use of incense and other deodorizers, use of eye drops, clothing, posters and jewellery promoting drug use can all be telling signs.

One can also look for withdrawal, depression, fatigue, carelessness with grooming, hostility and deteriorating relationship with family members and friends. In addition, changes in academic performance, increased absenteeism or truancy, lost interest in                                                                                                                 

Sports or other favourite activities, and changes in eating or sleeping habits could be related to illicit drug use.

These signs, however, may indicate problems other than use of illicit drugs. But for a responsible parent and citizen, they should not be let to pass without notice.

Marijuana smoking affects the brain and leads to impaired short-term memory, perception, judgement and motor skills. Marijuana has adverse effects on many of the skills for driving a car. Driving while high leads to car accidents.

Within a few minutes of inhaling marijuana smoke, the user will likely, along with intoxication and poor coordination and poor sense of balance and slower reaction time. Blood vessels in the eyes expand, so the user's eyes look red.

As the immediate effects fade, usually after two to three hours, the user may become sleepy.

During a crime-reporting workshop for journalists, a police officer narrated how he witnessed drugs destroy children due to the negligence of their parents. The officer said that for a long period the children, who were his neighbours, in the flats where he stayed, hurled all sorts of obscene insults whenever he returned home. One day he got so worked up that he drew his pistol, and shot in the air in their direction. The following day the mother of the children did exactly what her children had been doing all along.

But that when the children stopped going to school and begun feeding from the garbage skips, the abusive and careless mother ran to the same officer and begged for literature on drug abuse! It was pay back time. In any case, why wait that long?

Marijuana is clearly a dangerous drug which poses a pertinent threat to the health and well-being of children and adolescents at a critical point in their lives- when they are growing, learning, maturing and laying the foundation for their adult years.

                                                                                                                                                                                       

Children look to their parents for help and guidance in working out problems and making decisions, including the decision not to use drugs. Parents, guardians and elders are role models; their decision not to use marijuana and other illegal drugs will reinforce their message to the young.

Government too has a duty to enact and enforce laws that ensure the protection of its people. Since 1997 the law intended to arrest the now out –of- hand drug abuse and trafficking, The 1999  Narcotic Drugs and Other Psychotropic Substances Bill, has been left in the shelves to gather dust. But the destruction of the next generation goes on like there is no government in place.

The commercial cyclists, commonly referred to as boda boda, as well as taxi drivers are notorious drug abusers. It is one major reason they are leading accident-causers and have made Uganda’s roads to rank among the most unsafe in the world.

                                                                                                                   

There is no magic bullet for preventing teenage drug abuse. But parents can be influential by talking to their children about the dangers of using marijuana and other drugs, and remain actively engaged in their children's lives.

Appropriate parental monitoring can reduce future drug use even among those adolescents who may be prone to marijuana use, such as those who are rebellious, cannot control their emotions, and experience internal distress.                                                                                                              

Lack of treatment for drug addicts further compounds Uganda's demise with drug abuse. Treatment for marijuana dependence is much the same as therapies for other drug abuse problems. These include detoxification, behavioural therapies, and regular attendance at meetings of support groups such as Narcotics Anonymous.

Currently there are no medications for treating marijuana dependence. Treatment programs focus on counselling and group support systems. From these studies, drug treatment professionals are learning what characteristics of users are predictors of success in treatment and approaches to treatment can be most helpful.

Drug-related activities fuel crime and corruption, aggravate social problems, and retard economic progress throughout the world. The Ugandan government is not according drug abuse and trafficking the attention it deserves. Otherwise what policy or tough legislation has it to show in this regard? Pearl News Service sources intimate that some top government figures are ripping big from this illicit trade. That probably explains the snail- pace in responding to curb the vice.

The public nevertheless has to be firm in fighting drug abuse, and consistent in putting pressure on government to enact the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance Bill. If the drug abuse casualties have failed to move government into action, public's determination will not.

Mark and David are lucky; they are being assisted to trace their direction in life. Not many are this lucky. But even if recovery were to be a guarantee, it is important to keep it at the back of one's mind that drug abuse is an experience one must avoid at all cost. Drug abuse scars may never heal and thus haunt you the rest of your life.

Marijuana use is a life-threatening substance; not at all a performance-enhancing drug. And it is like a double edged sword because it affects the user as well as the other members of the community. There is urgent need to carry out a vigorous education campaign for the public, and to have in place legislation that will curb this vice. That way, the public, especially parents, will play a major role in protecting these tender and young lives from cannabis sativa ruin.