Chairman of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd) has decried growing consumption of cannabis among youths, saying Nigerians now hosts 10.6 million young people, who abuse marijuana and other hard substances.
He made the shocking revelation while delivering a lecture on ‘Drug abuse among youths in Africa: Implications for Nigerian economy and 2023 elections’ at the 10th anniversary of Realnews, an online magazine, yesterday, in Lagos.
He blamed the society for the rise in drug abuse among youths, stating: “Today, you have all sorts of pro-cannabis groups, movements and activists all over the place.
They make it seem as if smoking cannabis is innocuous and not dangerous to health, and, therefore, should be an inalienable right of the smoker.
Marwa warned that legalisation of cannabis and related substances would spell doom for a country like Nigeria that is still struggling with developmental issues.
While reliving milestones attained since assuming headship of the NDLEA 22 months ago, he said they include arrest of 19, 341 drug offenders and conviction of 3,111, besides seizure of 5.5 million kilogrammes of assorted hard substances.