Abstract:

Marijuana use is prevalent among the youth in Ghana today. With reference to Today News (2014), the Narcotic Control Board indicated that out of a total number of 50,000 drug users, 35,000 are youth spanning from junior, secondary and tertiary institutions. This study examines the impact of marijuana use among the youth of Sabon Zongo Community in Ghana and the reasons that influences them to use the drug. These objectives were met by handing out questionnaires to 150 out of which 132 gave their consent and answered them. The study also paid attention to thematic areas that are replete in the existing literature concerning the use of marijuana and its effects on users including the impacts of marijuana use and the reasons given.

Data collected was organized using Excel spreadsheet, Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software and analysed with Descriptive Statistics and Pearson’s Chi-Square. Results and discussions from this study revealed that physical impacts and the gateway phenomenon had dependent relationships with marijuana use. As a result, an educational campaign on the negative impacts of marijuana use on physical health and being potentially a gateway to using harder drugs using a multi-sectorial approach is recommended to reduce if not to eliminate the use of marijuana among the youth in Ghana.

Keywords: Marijuana, impact of marijuana use, Gateway phenomenon, marijuana use among the youth of Ghana, physical, psychosocial, economic effects of marijuana use.

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