Very little is known about the struggles of drug addiction among university students. While some might assume it is a fun practice to do drugs in university since they are in their ‘prime days’, it is actually a struggle among many. Of course coming out and speaking about addiction is termed as being vulnerable especially among the male population.
Most of the time when we talk about drugs we think ‘hard drugs’ however this might not be the case among most university students as the most commonly abused drugs are bhang and alcohol among this youthful population.
What started as a fun way of unwinding to campus students has turned into a menace, leaving most of the alcohol and drug substance users addicted.
According to one of our sources from Chuka University, who uses both substances but mostly uses bhang, his started out of curiosity and became a habit due to the environment he was living in. He narrates how he started using bhang at the delicate age of thirteen while still in primary school out of curiosity as he was convinced by a friend that it was not as harmful as cigarette.
The addiction however kicked in as he proceeded to high school where he could not operate normally without bhang. "I remember shaking uncontrollably and failing to concentrate without using the substance. I used to hide in crowds to avoid being noticed by the school administration. It however got severe in form three and I had to be excused to go home and seek help".
He goes on to say rehab did not help him much because it was like a quarantine. Despite seeking help he relapsed again and he uses bhang up to date. He speaks of how bhang keeps him from acting on impulse and distracts his thoughts because he overthinks on doing ‘bad and weird’ stuff.
"Bhang helps me process things slowly, when I am sober, it is very difficult for me to refrain my emotions. It is better I take bhang and stay in a happy mood with everyone lest I become an introvert and my thoughts take over me. And when this should happen, trust me, I am a whole different person".
Whilst it is societal unrare for the female gender to abuse substances, there is an interesting figure of them abusing bhang. A testimony from one of the users from the same institution states how she started using bhang during their first year in university.
"I started using bhang during my freshman year. I was introduced to it by a friend. I use it because I want to feel good. I really don’t need it, I do it for fun. However, when I started it was like an addiction. I could not do without it. These days I do it for fun. I figured I was using more money on it as I was exhausting my savings and my pocket money".
One of the Chuka University Student Association representative says most of the cases they handle are mostly for alcohol addiction.
"As you are well aware bhang is illegal, people don’t come to us with such cases because of the fear of being arrested".
However, he goes on to say that he has walked individuals through addiction to recovery and for this, he wishes more people could be open about substance addiction because it is a norm in today’s society.
The university has put together a guiding and counselling department under the office of the dean of students in order to give guidance and counselling to the addicts and help them as they walk through their recovery journey. In order to make this student friendly, there are students who are peer counsellors.
A report by the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) reveals that about one in every 53 Kenyans aged 15 to 65 years, totalling a staggering 518,807 individuals, is currently on cannabis. The most alarming revelation is that the number of cannabis users has skyrocketed by an outstanding 90 percent in just the last five years.
However, alcohol seems to be the most abused drug as men take the lead on this one. The report further indicates that persons between ages 25 to 35 years are the most people who consume alcohol followed by persons of age 15 to 24 years.
Tharaka Nithi county, through the Tharaka Nithi County Alcoholic Drinks Control Act approved 556 retail outlets, where five distributors were also considered for licensing. The county also released new liquor business operating hours and recommended the construction of rehabilitation centres in each of the three constituencies.
This followed a noticeable closure of quite a number of liquor selling stores around the university premises.
The Writer, Agatha Nafula is a Third Year Journalism Student at Chuka University.
Rehab doesn't help anything. An addict must find some work to do to keep his/her mind busy and draw mind from the thirst of the drug. This is my case.