Socio-Economic and Academic Impact of the Legalisation of Marijuana on the Youths at Ngwenani Ya Ha Mapholi

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to explore the effects of the legalisation of marijuana on youth academic performances at the University of Venda, Vhembe District, Limpopo province in South Africa. Many countries across the globe have legalised marijuana use for medical and recreational purposes but those without the permission to produce, use and market the drug including students have been found on the wrong side of the law. A number of higher educational institutions have reported an upsurge in the use of marijuana both on and off campus obviously with negative consequences on the academic performance of students. The study employed an exploratory design and a qualitative approach to execute the study. A purposive sampling technique was used to select a sample for the study and the participants were interviewed. The study found that marijuana use leads to lack of focus, amotivation, loss of memory and ultimately poor academic performance among marijuana-using student populations. The study recommends that the country should fully implement the marijuana legalisation laws, form surveillance teams to offer information on the negative effects of marijuana and offer counselling services to marijuana users. Police and the courts should decisively deal with the illegal marijuana producers and distributors in order to weed out the culprits from society and to put a stop to the abuse of the drug.