HURIWA Raises Awareness In Southeastern Schools On Dangers Of Hard Drugs

Representatives from the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) have started school-to-school awareness-raising and educational campaigns about the perils of hard drugs in the Southeastern region.

Speaking at Owerri City Secondary School, Wetheral Road Owerri, the Imo State Capital at the weekend, the leader of the team, Izuagba Chidinma Onyekachi, expressed worries that many students in the southeast are not aware of the negative implications of engaging in hard drug habits.

Onyekachi urged the students to avoid abuse of hard drugs, stressing that dealing with illicit substances has grievous implications for their future.

“Doing drugs is the worst thing that can happen to any student. It is the abuse, especially the abuse of hard drugs or even alcohol that can ruin the life and future of any student. More importantly, you shall learn how to avoid getting hooked on any drug, and what you can do if you indulge in drug habits already.

“You may not know, but a child can be born with drug addiction for the reason that the mother was a drug addict while pregnant. Hard drug habit is that bad and that serious.”

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Another team led by the Southeast focal person for HURIWA, Miss Obilor Ebube Chukwu, spoke to students of Ndiegoro Community Secondary School Ulasi Road Aba, Abia State. She told them drug abuse is a habit with many short and long-term negative effects.

She said the negative effects of drug abuse, include: physical and mental health problems, legal consequences, and impairment in many areas of a person’s life, from school to work and interpersonal functioning and physical well-being.

She listed drugs often abused in Nigeria including heroin, Crystal methamphetamine (Nkpurumiri), cocaine and crack, opioids, ecstasy, ketamine, hallucinogens, such as Loud (LSD), Cannabis products (hash and marijuana), and central nervous system depressants (Benzos), amphetamine-type stimulants and inhalants and solvents such as glue.

According to her, HURIWA has taken up drug education among students because young people, particularly students, are faced with many influences to use both licit and illicit drugs.

“HURIWA believes that drug education can play a counterbalancing role in shaping a normative culture of safety, moderation, and informed decision-making. The knowledge they say is power. Drugs change how the brain is wired and people with a drug use disorder continue using it despite the harm caused to their health, relationships, and careers.”