Commonly used and determinants of drug use among Students of Tertiary Institutions in Idah Local Government Area, Kogi State, Nigeria

Research Article

Abstract

Illicit drug use among students of tertiary institutions remains a significant public health and social concern, particularly among young adults who are exposed to peer pressure, academic stress and easy access to psychoactive substances. Thus, this descriptive study sought to identify the illicit drugs commonly used among students of tertiary institutions in Idah Local Government Area, Kogi State, Nigeria. Two hundred and fifty-four students were selected from the Federal Polytechnic, Idah and College of Health Sciences and Technology, Idah, as respondents using a well-structured questionnaire. A total of 246 copies of the questionnaire were retrieved, representing a 96.85% retrieval rate. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics involving frequencies and percentages, while Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to test the hypothesis at 0.05 level of significance. The study found that 91.9% of the respondents had heard of illicit drug use among students. Marijuana (80.5%) was the most commonly misused drug, followed by tramadol (75.2%) and codeine-based cough syrup (66.7%), while methamphetamine (39.4%), cocaine (30.1%), ecstasy (27.6%) and heroin (24.0%) were also reported. The study further revealed a statistically significant difference in the types of illicit drugs misused among students (p = 0.000), leading to the rejection of the null hypothesis. The study concludes that illicit drug use remains a significant concern among students of tertiary institutions in Idah LGA, with marijuana, tramadol and codeine-based cough syrup constituting the major substances of concern. The study recommends, among others, that tertiary institutions should strengthen health education and drug-abuse prevention programmes, provide effective counselling and support services for students, and collaborate with relevant government agencies to control access to illicit and commonly misused pharmaceutical drugs.