Drug abuse can be referred to as the misuse of clinically prescribed medication or the use of behavioral or mentally altering substances by an individual.
Drug abuse is an offshoot of a wider tern known as substance abuse. Here, not only are synthetic drugs like meth, or natural plants/herbs like marijuana are examined, household items such as glue, insecticide, caffeine or even petrol or Robb are misused. So with this new term, Substance abuse is the overuse or misuse of a clinically prescribed drug or the misuse of a natural herb or household item by an individual in such a manner that it would alternate the physiology or behavior of the person.
It is important to know that this includes some substances that are usually medically prescribed for some patients like marijuana for extreme pain, codeine for pain and extreme cough, Indian hemp for easing pain and inducing sleep, among others. The household items listed above such as glue, petrol have no health basis they are (ab)used as inhalants.
In light of this, we'll be examining the effects of substance abuse on the reading culture of students.
Last week, we examined the effects of peer pressure on students' reading culture, drug use or abuse are usually initiated by people related to one.
Psychoactive substances have a way of creating a form of physiological dependence on the brain of a person, which is why some people might be unable to read without a particular drug/substance. For example, some students cannot read and concentrate without coffee (caffeine) or nicotine.
When a person starts using drugs/substances for a while, at a particular time, their brain begins to think differently and perceive differently when they are not actively consuming it.
The habit that most students have of staying up late at night to 'read' the night before exam shows how much they rely on caffeine and cramming.
Any one can consciously or unconsciously cause their brains and bodies to depend on substances especially when the use these substances when they are reading or actively engaging their brains. So, even as subtle as taking caffeine early in the morning is or at midnight, the adrenal glands would be induced to produce adrenaline so the person is really active and awake, but after a while the brain would not be active without the substance.
This topic of drug/substance abuse is quite sad because most students do not understand how much it affects them, hence awareness must be done for the students, their teachers, and parents.
Writer: Nwachukwu Nkechinyere Favour
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