Drug abuse among youth in rural communities: Causes, effects and solutions

Abstract

Drug abuse continues to be a major risk behaviour among youths and adolescents, with physical and mental health implications. Despite the known risks associated with drugs, adolescents continue using them. This paper examines the prevalence of drug abuse among youths in rural communities, highlight by problems associated with drugs abuse and adduce reasons why adolescents are vulnerable to drugs abuse. Drug abuse causes a lot of risk among the adolescents; it results to gang violence, armed robbery, mental illness and cultism. I have found out that most of the drug addicts started smoking from their young age. As they grow older, they seek new thrills and gradually go into hard drugs.