KNOWLEDGE OF DRUG USE AND ABUSE AMONG STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF BENIN

The purpose of this study is to determine the knowledge of drug use and abuse among student of the University of Benin. A drug is any chemical substance derived from plants, animals or mineral resources, be it traditional or orthodox which is used for internal application to the human body in the treatment of diseases, reduction of pain or to modify the functions of the various systems of the body. Drug abuse is a situation where people use drugs without survey prescription of medical practitioners. A descriptive survey research design was adopted in the study. Multi-stage sampling technique was used for the study. One hundred and fifty (150) respondents were derived through the sampling technique from the total population of 33,342 students of the University of Benin. The research adopted questionnaire as the instrument for data collection. The research findings showed that more then two-third of students knew what drug abuse was, and indulged in it due to a variety of reasons like pressure and curiously. However a considerable proportion of respondents reported their un-involvement in drug abuse. Based on the findings, it was recommended that students should be health educated on the dangers of drug abuse by organizing seminars and workshops. In addition, the mass media should help in curbing the menace by organizing health programs on radio and television. There should be wide campaigns against drug abuse by NGOs.