Effects of Substance Use on Violent Crimes in Nasarawa State, Nigeria

Abstract

Substance use and violent crime are menace currently affecting every aspect of human society. Substance use otherwise known as drug use is becoming rampant and out of control in Nigeria. The paper examines public perception of the effects of substance use on violent crimes in Nasarawa state. The objectives include; identify the substances that are commonly used, examine the effects of alcohol abuse on incidence of violent crime and assess the effects of marijuana use on violent crimes. To further explain the relationship between substance use and violent crime, rational choice theory was adopted to explain the phenomenon. Survey design was adopted using questionnaire as the main instrument to collect the primary data for this study from the respondents. Data collected through questionnaire was analyzed using descriptive statistics of simple percentage tables. The findings revealed that alcohol and marijuana are the common substances available for use/abuse in Nasarawa State. The paper also revealed that the abuse of alcohol often leads to violent crimes. It was equally revealed that marijuana use is associated with violent crimes as people who use marijuana predisposed to all manners of violent behaviour like assault, rape, stealing/robbery and murder.  It would be concluded that substance use has adverse effect on violent crimes in Nasarawa State. The study recommends that the government should educate public on the danger of substance use/abuse in order to discourage users from the act thereby reducing violent crimes in the State. The State government should establish a counselling unit across the State where trained criminologists would give substance users orientation and advice on how to discourage them from using substances.