By Gom Mirian
In an effort to combat the rising issue of drug abuse among youths, the Lagos State Government has issued a warning to young individuals about the dangers of negative peer pressure and its connection to drug abuse.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr. Olusegun Ogboye, who gave the warning at a school awareness and ssensitisation programme in Lagos to mark the 2023 International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, explained that people, especially teenagers and youths, may feel obligated to use and abuse drugs and substances if their peers are doing it.
Represented by the Director, Pharmaceutical Services in the Ministry, Mrs. Oyebisi Omolanbe, Ogboye charged stakeholders to consistently propose strategies aimed at educating children and young adults about drug abuse, in addition to implementing well-thought-out interventions to achieve the necessary developmental goals in a drug-free society.
While stressing the importance of prioritising citizens’ mental health, he said: “Peers play a significant role in our lives, especially in late childhood and adolescence. However, negative peer pressure with regards to misuses and abuse of drugs and substances as well as trafficking of the same comes with a lot of burden and negative consequences.
“Drug and substance abuse can affect every aspect of a child’s life and also have a negative effect in the society. So the earlier we nip it in the bud, the better for our youths and the society,” he said.
The event’s facilitator, Dr. Oluseyi Odewale, explained that drug abuse can damage a young person’s brain and cause dependency because their brains are still developing and can affect their ability to make judgments, which will negatively affect how they interact with others in society.
“The brains of young people are still developing. And any attempt to introduce any substance to that developing brain, will actually mess it up and the last place to develop is the place of judgement, which is the place of executive functions such as Memory, learning, decision -making, ability to weigh down time,” she said, while urging young ones to pick their cocompanions wisely to avoid harmful peer pressure.
