Brief Review of Causes and Effects of Substance Abuse on Young Adults: Focus on Bonny Island Residents

Abstract

Substance abuse is fast becoming a global social concern especially among young adults. Young people often experiment with a variety of activities and substances. Unfortunately, this experimentation can lead to substance abuse and addiction. Statistics show that drug abuse is a growing problem among young adults. This review highlights the causes of substance abuse among young adults in the society, the effects of this harmful substances and possible preventions of this social menace on young people. In Bonny Island, it has become most worrisome the rate at which young people are embracing drugs freely and unchecked. Worst still, young people are generating their mixtures using modern substances with unusual elements to create their own formula for severe drug intake. This means that drug intake has graduated from the use of sedatives like cocaine, heroin and cannabis that we used to know to potent mixture of several drugs to attain fatal overdose. For example, a cocktail of drugs like codeine, tramadol, cannabis with juice or soft drink is called “gutter water”. More crude is the smoking of lizard dung, sniffing of petrol, glue, urine and sewage as inhalant. This is gradually eating deep into our society like cancer. Actually, substance abuse is now part of a modern society but very worrisome is the alarming rate at which young adults are embracing hard substances.