Various sentinel studies in the country reported that the prevalence of alcohol and other substance use among students’ population was high. Nevadomsky, in a study of drug use among secondary students in southern Nigeria, reported a prevalence of alcohol use to be 65%, tobacco 24% . The author reported that use of benzodiazepines, cannabis and amphetamines among the subjects were less common. Vázquel, in a study of prevalence of psychoactive substance use and dependence among Spanish university students, reported that 86.5% had consumed psychoactive substances, and 10.5% satisfied DSM IV criteria for dependence on nicotine, alcohol, caffeine or cannabis . Mason et al., in a study of substance use, social networks, and the geography of urban adolescents in Washington, USA, reported a prevalence of psychoactive substance use among the respondents as 65% .
The au thors reported that most popular psychoactive substances used were alcohol, cannabis and cocaine. Tobacco was not measured in the study as a primary psychoactive substance as some participants can legally use it. Centre for Disease Control and Prevention , cannabis grow system reported a high prevalence of cannabis use among teenagers aged 16 to 19 years . Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration , reported a high prevalence of cannabis use among young adults aged 18 to 25 years . In Tanzania, Kalula, in a qualitative study of cannabis use among young people, reported an increasing trend of cannabis use among youths aged 15 to 25 years with a prevalence rate of 5% . Adebiyi et al., in a study of tobacco use among out of school adolescents aged 10 to 19 years in Ibadan, Southwestern Nigeria, reported a prevalence of tobacco use as 20.5% . However, the study was limited to tobacco use. Information on the use of psychoactive substances among motorcyclists in Nigeria and more specifically in Northern Nigeria is limited. The current study aims to determine the socio-demographic characteristics of psychoactive substance users among commercial motorcycle operators in a selected local council Area in Kano, Nigeria.
We hypothesized that the socio-demographic characteristics of psychoactive substance users among commercial operators in Kano will be similar to what is found in other parts of Nigeria and the world. In this study, the younger age groups were found to be more likely to use psychoactive substances compared to those who were older than 35 years. This is in agreement with other studies done among commercial motorcyclists in Zaria, north western Nigeria and Nnewi, south eastern Nigeria. However, it differs from a study in southwestern Nigeria among refugees from Liberia, where respondents in the age group used psychoactive substances more than the younger age group of 18 to 30 years . The socio-cultural differences between Nigeria and Liberia may explain the observed difference. All the participants in this study were males because only males operate commercial motorcycles in Kano state. Studies have shown that males are more likely to abuse drugs compared to females. All the respondents were Moslems, which is the predominant religion in Kano state. Majority of the respondents participated regularly in their religious activities, which may partly account for the low prevalence of psychoactive substance use in them. This is consistent with the findings of similar studies in Ilorin and Abeokuta where significant association was found between substance use and religiosity, with those who were very religious being less likely to use psychoactive substances.
More than 88% of the respondents were married, and more than 60% had between one and 5 children, in keeping with the study in Ilorin among long distance drivers with more than 95% of the subjects married with children . It would seem that marriage had a moderating effect on substance use by the respondents, as use of cannabis, stimulants, inhalants and opiates was more among the respondents who were single. This is line with a study among 62 patients who use/abuse psychoactive substances, at the drug abuse unit of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta, where it was observed that the patients were mostly single . This finding also corroborates a study by Ansari-Moghaddam et al. in Iran which found that singles were twice more likely to use substances compared to those who were married . Most of the participants in this study had some form of education, up to secondary school, which is consistent with the study in Ilorin and Zaria where more than 68% had some form of education ranging from primary to tertiary education.