It is a common knowledge that the use of certain chemicals for the purpose of creating pleasurable effects on the brain is nothing but drug abuse. Simply put, it is the use of drugs without prescription from a competent medical practitioner. Drugs are also abused for the purpose of recreational activities, depression, strength and lots more.
Most commonly abused drugs are Marijuana, Alcohol, Cocaine, Valium, Heroin, Percocet, Tramadol and others.
Drug misuse is believed to have a wide range of direct and indirect effects on our body. Drug abuse varies based on the type of drug taken, how it is taken, how much is taken and also the person’s state of health.
Drug abuse also have long and short term effects on the body system depending on the type of drugs taken and how often the drug is taken.
Short term effect of drugs can range from changes in appetite, wakefulness, blood pressure, heart attack, stroke and even death. This kind of effects occurs sometimes after just a single dose of the abused drug.
A long term effect on the other hand includes heart or lung diseases, cancer, mental illness, hepatitis, and others. Long term use of drug can also lead to addiction as one finds it difficult to abstain from the drug for life.
Drug abuse affects the way we experience normal pleasures in life such as food and sex. Most people take drugs to increase their sex drive while others take it to increase their appetite for food.
However, drug abuse can be prevented in our homes by living a healthy lifestyle. One form of keeping healthy life style is eating balanced diet. That is to say at homes parents should ensure there is a healthy eating habit as unhealthy eating habits leads to unhealthy habits.
Parents should on their part check on their teenage children to know what they do with their electronic devices as most children through internet stimulation get exposed to imagery and video contents of drugs and as a result turn addicts.
In the world today, most addiction results from peer pressure and evil communication. The kind of people kids hang- out with have great impact in their lives as they mostly act the ways their friends act. Their chances of exposing to drug misuse increases as a result of the company they keep.
Life as we know has no duplicate. A healthy lifestyle increases our life span. I urge us all to safe our lives by abstaining from harmful drugs which are inimical to our lives.
The drug laws should be reviewed such that drug abuse should attract stiffer penalties.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administrative Control (NAFDAC) should step up their ante and become more proactive in the task of regulating the sale and consumption of drugs, especially as they affect teenagers.
The law should descend heavily on anyone caught trafficking and using drugs against specifications from qualified medical practitioners to serve as deterrent to others.
