The use of harmful drugs is becoming rampant in schools, especially the prestigious ones. I will not be mentioning the names of schools and students for ethical consideration; however, it is increasingly becoming a big scare among parents. Not only, but mostly in Kampala, students easily get access to harmful drugs, including alcohol, nicotine, cocaine, and marijuana, among others, due to having dealers in the said schools.

My nephew has succumbed to peer pressure at school and indulged in cocaine consumption and thus is slowly turning into an addict. When he first enrolled in school two years ago, he couldn’t afford to take alcohol, but by the time one year elapsed, he was not only taking alcohol but also hard drugs.

He has a large group of friends with whom he takes the drugs, and they have specific dealers who smuggle them through fellow students to school. Once he goes home for the holidays, he starts searching for local dealers and street hooligans to search for drugs.

Trying to caution him is like flogging a dead horse. He always retaliates, “It’s what cool kids are doing now. Don’t make me lose my aura.” All this stems from the need to fit in, to be accepted by his peers. Gradually, he is starting to show signs of an addict as his eyes are turning reddish, his face looks fatigued, and he is starting to look 5 years older than his real age. Additionally, he is not receptive to all the efforts by his parents to help him beat the addiction. His future is looking bleak.

In another case, in 2020, a friend who was studying at an international school at the time revealed to me how he was involved in the selling and buying of drugs at school. He would go to dealers and get drugs, then sell them to fellow students for profit.

Based on the above examples and many more not mentioned, one of the contributing factors has been these schools being very lax in their rules and regulations, which makes students be permissive, thus leading them to use drugs at school. Additionally, students from wealthy backgrounds are easy targets for drug dealers because they have the financial means to afford drugs.

Parents also play a part because they’re relaxed in parenting and also overindulge their children, which makes them unruly. Most parents focus on their work instead of staying with their kids or checking on them regularly. Large amounts of money for upkeep also contribute to students’ vulnerability to bad vices.

Alarmingly, research shows that the prevalent drug use in school-going adolescents in urban areas like Kampala ranges from 50 to 70 percent, according to the National Institute of Health.

I am hoping that by writing this article, fellow guardians and parents open up their eyes to actively inoculate youth under their care. As with my nephew, we are on that journey, the journey you don’t wish your child to be on. We hope to get him back on track, so, before yours is off track, walk the track with them.

Leaders, therefore, need to be vigilant in holding schools and parents accountable for the children’s growing addiction to drugs because the country is losing promising youths to this dangerous vice. Sensitization and strict laws for underage drug consumption need to be enforced and implemented if the current young generation and the one to come are to live a more responsible and healthy life.