Drug abuse practices and its impact on the socio-economic welfare of the people of West Nile: a case study of West Nile, Nebbi District Central

Abstract

The objective of this study was to analyze drug abuse practices and its impact on the socio-economic welfare of the people of West Nile. The analysis was focused on important factors such as age group that mostly consume drug or involved in drug abuse practices, knowing the most consumed drug, its impact on the social wellbeing of the community and others relevant factors such as economic and labor. This was done using primary data collected from 115 respondents. The analysis was done using Stata and data was analyzed at univariate, bivariate and multivariate level. The study revealed that family background is the main cause of drug and alcoholic abuse among the aged 15-20 years in Nebbi District (opano). It is suggested that people mostly the youth should stay away from drugs and focus on their education to be responsible citizens and that the elders should not take alcohol insight of the young ones. According to the study it was seen that peer pressure was another major cause of alcohol and drug abuse among the people, it was therefore recommended that parents should provide enough parental guidance to the youth and also encourage them to attend youth Christian camps that mostly take place every January in Omyer Nebbi District. The study recommended that laws against drug abuse and alcoholism should be strengthened to the people below 18 years, taking youth to rehabilitation centers especially those who are already addict and also provide them with considering services concerning the effect of drug abuse and alcoholism. A sensitization programmes should be taken up by the government to reach out to the youth concerning the danger of drug abuse practices and alcoholism.