Narcotics Drug Use in West Africa and Its Impact on Human Security

Abstract

The West African sub-region has increasingly become a consumer and a final destination market for all types of drugs of abuse attributed to regional drug trafficking that has caused a supply-driven increase of narcotic drugs. This paper therefore reviewed the impact of narcotic drug use on human security of states in the West African sub-region and adopted the theory of rational addiction as theoretical framework for analysis. The paper also employed a desk-review research approach with the reports and evaluations obtained from secondary sources of data analyzed through content analysis. The paper found that narcotic drug use is associated with several drug problems that include biological, environmental, behavioral, cognitive and emotional risk factors. The study concluded that narcotic drug use has negative impact on the human security of West African states and recommended that ECOWAS Commission and member states should address the structural, political and socio-economic weaknesses facing states in the region by adopting policy measures aimed at improving human security. Furthermore, drug supply reduction strategies which primarily focus on interdiction actions should be complemented with harm reduction policies that will address public health and developmental challenges.