CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
The purpose of introducing this course into the College’s Curriculum is to enable the youth/adolescent to make good decisions about the use of drugs and alcohol having studied their good and bad effect on the human body, alcohol and other drugs are mostly used by youths in our various colleges and campuses. The decision to use alcohol and drugs such as Marijuana, Indian Hemp, Cocaine , as an adult one has to know the limit and weakness of the use of drugs and alcohol and have responsibility for your actions, it becomes drug abuse, social use of drugs involves the use of certain substances for recreational purposes, although all drugs used in this way are harmful but some of them are socially acceptable. Some of these drugs are not considered as drug abuse, if they are used in moderation and only by adult e.g. alcohol, cigarette and kola nut.
Drug and alcohol abuse: We cannot sit on the fence and criminally pretending that the menace of drug and alcohol abuse that had eaten deep into the fabric of our national heritage (young lives) to eat deeper. Taking of the drug is one thing; abuse of drug is another, and come the menace of drug abuse, drug abuse is the use of drug by a person without medical purpose and supervision.
Drug are abused because users derive temporary happiness, emotional, excitement, relaxation or relief from problem, it is a pitiable dismal that adolescents in secondary school are now very much involved. To the end, the attention of the general public must be brought to revitalized and collectively salvage together in order to prevent the total degeneration and loss of lives and values.
Therefore, all hands must be on deck to be able to fight this monster of drug and alcohol abuse that affect us daily, socially, educationally, politically, morally even through mass media as much as our effort can go. The medicinal dictionary defines drug as any substance that affect the structure of functioning of a living organism, Dr. Wale Oloyede (2002) define drug as any chemical agent that is capable to affecting living processes, respiration, growth, excretion, location, reproduction etc. drugs procedure harmful as well as beneficial effect, and decisions about when and how to use them therapeutically always involve the balancing of benefit and risks which can be classified into two categories.