CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Marijuana smoking in recent years has become considerably pleasurable to the addict. Marijuana is a greenish-gray mixture of dried, shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers. Marijuana is a common name for a drug made from the dried leaves and flowering tops of the Indian hemp plant cannabis sativa. People smoke, chew, or eat marijuana for its hallucinogenic and intoxicating effects. Different classes of people use it, it could be wrapped and smoked, it could be soaked into local gin and sold by local gin sellers, which abound in many part of our society. It is known by a number of slang names, including pot, grass, reefer, weed, and Mary Jane. (Iversen, 2008). Iversen also noted that marijuana is a substance that has long been used as medicine and an intoxicant.
Nowlis (1975) observed that marijuana is a substance which affects the structure and function of the organism negatively inducing the organism into states, such as confusion, acute panic reactions, anxiety attacks, fear, a sense of helplessness, and loss of self-control. It was reported in Tide magazine of July 6th (2008), that, marijuana is among the cheapest class of hard drugs that many secondary school students could purchase and use. A rap of marijuana is sold for N20.00 while a pinch of cocaine or heroin goes for N50.00 and above. The implication of this is that large numbers of Nigerian youths have access to marijuana.
Marijuana smoking is similar to cigarette smoking. Akube (1997) explained that marijuana is a produce that harm the body of a smoker. This is a situation where the person inhales the burning fumes produced by the hand-rolled cigarettes form or pipes. Some of the observable characteristics of smokers that distinguish them from non smokers are odour similar to the burnt leave, excessive laughter, unkempt hairs, red eyes, black lips, excessive appetite, yellowish stains on fingertips etc. Marijuana smoking is widely spread among adolescents, students and young adults. The percentage of middle school students, who are reported to have been using or smoking marijuana, increase throughout the early 1990, 1991 and 1992. (National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2003). Marijuana smoking is a common phenomenon among students in senior secondary school in the area of study. Anumonye(1980) observed that secondary school students who smokes marijuana initiate themselves by smoking at the age of 11 years, and that a friend‘s home is the most often smoking place, and the observable behavior among this smokers are relaxation and a feeling of well being, euphoria, enhanced sensation of taste, touch, hearing and vision.Abimbola Fashola, wife of the Lagos State Governor was reported in the Tide Tuesday July 6th (2008), urging the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency to identify and educate grower and smokers of Indian hemp on it harmful effect on the society. Tide (2008) reported that, the commander of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Mr. Eigege Adamu, in River State, in an address at ceremony of United Nation day on Drug said that marijuana is an illicit drug,that causes 80% of violent crime among secondary school students in our society. The extent of Indian hemp abuse among secondary school students has prompted the mass media to organize discussion by official of mass media on ills of marijuana smoking.
Non-smokers in this study are therefore referred to as, students who do not indulge in the smoking of marijuana whether in secret or in public places, and are involved in positive academic activities that will impact positively in their lives. Non-smokers are also individuals or students who do not possess the observable characteristics of those who indulge in the smoking acts. These are normal students that keep the rules and regulations of the school and obey constituted authorities.
Social behaviour is the way people influence, perceive, and interact with one another and how people behave in social situations. The study of social influence includes the following; conformity, obedience to authority, the formation of attitudes, and the principles of persuasion. Researchers are interested in physical attraction, love and intimacy, aggression, altruism, and group processes. Many social psychologists are also interested in cultural influences on interpersonal behavior. Schaller (2003) observed that social behaviour is to defend ourselves and those we value. Schaller agree that people get hostile when their reputations, their resources families members of the same gang, classmate are threatened. The motivation to defend ourselves can have obvious benefits promoting survival and that of our family members, but it can also lead to our escalating violence due to substance taking (marijuana).
Social behaviour is goal-oriented, people enter social situation with short term immediate goal and this are linked to broader long term goals and ultimately to more fundamental motives (Bugental 2000). Social behaviour represents a continual interaction between features inside the person and events in the situation. There are anti-social behaviour and pro-social behaviour; anti-social behavior is a disorder in which individuals tend to display no regard for the moral and ethical rules of society or the rights of others. While pro-social behavior is an antidote in helping behavioural modification.
Academic achievement is a situation where learning outcome is appraised in terms of matching it with standardized testing and its successful completion. It is all about what students can actually do when they have finished a course of achievement study. The need for achievement is a stable, learned characteristic in which satisfaction is obtained by striving for excellence (Feldman, 2002). During the course of teaching and learning the teacher should employ instructional strategies that will reinforce behaviours‘ that is geared towards success at the end of the academic session.
INFLUENCE OF MARIJUANA SMOKING ON STUDENTS SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS (A CASE STUDY OF IKOM EDUCATION ZONE OF CROSS RIVER STATE)
