ONE THIRD OF 11 MILLION CANNABIS USERS IN NIGERIA, NEED DRUG COUNSELLING – SURVEY
Oru Leonard
A survey launched by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has revealed that one third of the eleven million cannabis users in Nigeria will need drug counselling.
This was stated by the UNODC Country Representative, Nigeria Dr. Oliver Stolpe who presented the key findings on the World Drug Report at a press briefing in Abuja, on Thursday, , Dr. Oliver Stolpe. He said the perception of cannabis by young people is a worrisome trend. considering that there are 11 million cannabis users in Nigeria, a third of whom seemed to be regular users with a need for drug counselling
In a press release made available to the media by the UNODC Media Unit, the 2021 World Drug Report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), has revealed that around 275 million people used drugs worldwide in the last year, while over 36 million people suffered from drug use disorders.
According to the 2018 National Drug Use Survey, there were around 14.3 million drug users of which close to 3 million suffered from a drug use disorder.
The report also showed that in the last 24 years cannabis potency had increased by as much as four times in parts of the world, even as the percentage of adolescents who perceived the drug as harmful fell by as much as 40 per cent, despite evidence that cannabis use is associated with a variety of health and other harms, especially among regular long-term users.
He disclosed that between 2010-2019 the number of people using drugs increased by 22 per cent, owing in part to global population growth.
In a breakdown of the report. Dr. Stolpes explained that based on demographic changes alone, current projections suggest an 11 per cent rise in the number of people who use drugs globally by 2030 and an increase of 40 per cent in Africa, due to its rapidly growing and young population.
He said its significance this that Nigeria will have to grapple with approximately 20 million drug users by 2030, further deepening the public health and public security challenge.
Again, he stated that according to the latest global estimates, about 5.5 per cent of the population aged between 15 and 64 years have used drugs at least once in the past year, while 36.3 million people, or 13 per cent of the total number of persons who use drugs, suffer from drug use disorders.
In Nigeria, he explained that with 14.4% the drug use prevalence is significantly higher than the global average, adding that globally, over 11 million people are estimated to inject drugs, half of whom are living with Hepatitis C. Opioids continue to account for the largest burden of disease attributed to drug use.
