The Effects of Illicit Drug and Substance Abuse on the Socio-Economic Wellbeing of families with Drug Abusers in Nansana

Abstract

In the world over, illicit drug and substance abuse is a gigantic problem that we cannot just work on its courses, but also focusing of its effect to the different aspects of human livelihoods which include, employment, health and family stability. And therefore this study focused on the effects of illicit drug and substance abuse in the areas of Nansana, Wakiso district along Hoima road, and specific to the local area of kibulooka. The study approach was basically qualitative, while the research design was a mixed method cross sectional design which used different methods of data collection, they included, questionnaire, observation, discussion and literature review. The sample size was purposively selected but the sampling criterion was standardized to reduce of the bias and so they have a representative information for the study area. The major findings of the study included: Drug addicts find hardship in the process of getting employed and their job security in case he or she get one is highly at a risk. This is a chain of negative effects in that when the jobs shy away from them, they intend to opt for the alternatives which included theft, rape and other criminal cases related to drug abuse. Domestic violence was attributed to illicit drug and substance abuse since families with abusers often have those making erroneous decisions, especially when there is an interaction with other factors. This exerted psychological and physical torture to the family members and disgrace to the community. The study concluded that there are more negative effects to illicit drug and substance abuse compared to the good effects, and this has been approved by the drug users as a response to key informants from the different organizations. Not only to the family but also to the community. A robust recommendation to control the effect is to develop a synergy between stakeholders including police, Religions, NGOs among others to employs a carrot and stick method to control the effect of drug abuse.