CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1       BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
 
This research work is on the effects of Drug Abuse among University undergraduates in Nigeria. It appears that not only the use of drugs that create problems but rather their misuse. In other words the widespread use of drugs has not only turned our attention to the dynamics of drug use and its determinants but also made it necessary to weigh the impact of this process on social institutions and social charge in future generations.
Drug abuse according to Laver (1978) simply means the improper use of drugs to the degree that the consequences are defined as detrimental to the user and or the society. The World Health Organization (WHO
(2006) also defined drug abuse as a “state” of periodic or chronic intoxication, detrimental to the individual and to the society, produced by the repeated consumption of a drug (natural or synthetic).
Drug abuse patterns include all aspect of drug usage by the youths ranging from how much, how often and what sort of drugs, where who, with, what circumstances and so on.