A don, Prof. Monday Igwe, has called on family and community members to treat drug abuse patients and sufferers with empathy, access to treatment and care rather than looking at them as criminals or moral failures.

Igwe, who is the Medical Director of Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Enugu, made the call on Sunday in Enugu while speaking on steps to increase access to treatment and care for drug abuse patients and sufferers.

He spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of the commemoration of the International Day Against Drug Abuse, being celebrated every June 25.

“It is rather unfortunate that many people in families and communities still view drug use as a moral failing and as a result are less empathetic to individuals afflicted by it.

“This leads to negative talks and stigmatization about the individual concerned and his/her immediate family.

“Therefore, using punitive methods (or ideas) to address it is widespread in many families and communities,” he said.

According to him, the likelihood that these (non empathically taken) actions will produce the desired outcomes is lower on the patient or sufferer.

Igwe, however, said that as a nation, things are positively evolving for drug abuse patients; as previously the campaign against illicit drug usage was focused on reducing the supply, which entails detaining people involved in drug trafficking and destroying cannabis cultivation fields.

“On the other hand, the current National Drug Roadmap places a strong emphasis on drug use disorder as a problem of public health.

“As a result, those who are impacted are offered treatment, which should discourage drug demand and supply,” he said.

The don said that the most often used and abused psycho-active substances in Nigeria, especially in the South-East, are cannabis and alcohol.

He said: “Cannabis is the most often used illicit substance, although alcohol is the substance that is most frequently abused.

“However, the use and intake of drugs may vary according to age and occupation. People between the ages of 25 and 39 had the greatest rate of drug abuse.

“The average age at which someone first uses a psycho-active substance is 19. However, it is crucial to note that drug usage is increasingly being started at younger ages, with many people starting in junior secondary school.” (NAN)