#Codeine: Lagos State Targets Mental Health Law, Parenting

In order to effectively tackle drug abuse including that of codeine in the country, the Commissioner for Health in Lagos State, Dr. Jide Idris said the Mental Health Law that would address the menace in Lagos would soon be passed into law.

The law, which has gone through the Second Reading was however still in the process of becoming a legal document, said Segun Olulade, chairman of the House Committee in Lagos State House of Assembly,

However, while the state is still awaiting the passage of the Bill, Idris has urged parents and guardians to establish close relationship with their children and wards to enable them monitor the children with a view to notice change in their behaviour and attitude.

According to Idris, it has become necessary for parents and guardians to uphold uprightness in their children through the reward of good behaviour. He said if parents rewarded good behaviour and achievements among the youths, they would be of good behaviour.

Highlighting other things the Lagos State Government would do to address drug abuse, Idris said although, Lagos State Interministerial Committee on Drug Abuse was established in 1993, the body would be used to sensitise the public on the menace of drug abuse and illicit trafficking.

Already, he noted that the Committee has engaged in campaign in form of awareness programmes, rallies and lectures.

The commissioner for health said the established Rehabilitation Centres in the state would take care of people affected by drug abuse. “The Lagos State Task Force on fake and counterfeit drugs will monitor sales and distribution of pharmaceutical products in the state” while the Task Force would sanitise the drug distribution channels by sealing the unregistered premises in the state.

Codeine is a short-acting narcotic analgesic prescribed by physicians most often used for the treatment of pain relief. Codeine can be highly addictive and provides the user with an overall sense of calm and feelings of pleasure. When codeine is used it enters the brain and causes the release of neurotransmitters that stimulate the reward center of the brain, leaving the user feeling intense feelings of well-being and pleasure. This kind of pleasure can lead to both psychological and physical dependence.

Some individuals use codeine for legitimate medical purposes, but over time develop an addiction problem. After prolonged use, an individual develops a tolerance for this substance and needs to take more and more of the drug in order to feel the effects. Someone who is addicted to codeine can begin to feel symptoms of withdrawal if they go even for a short time without using the drug.

On the role of the Lagos State Government, he said, apart from relying on the provisions of the Mental Health Law that would pave the way for the achievement of sustainable mental health for people in the state, the government would seal all unregistered premises with a view to limiting access to unwholesome and drugs of abuse.

Since 2015, Codeine has nearly overtaken Tramadol as the most abused opiate in Nigeria, said Idris, adding that thousands of young people in Nigeria have become addicted to codeine cough Syrup – a medicine that has become a street drug.

Nigeria government reports indicate that three million bottles are drunk every day in Northern part of the Country alone.

An investigative documentary, ‘Africa Eye’ launched recently by the BBC, the result of a five – month in – depth undercover investigation into the plague of addiction to cough mixtures across Nigeria, exposed major ills in the Nigeria Pharmaceutical Industry.

The documentary revealed how major Nigeria Pharmaceutical Industries were moving their legally produced products via back doors of their factories and into the hands of drug dealers who sell the dangerously addictive sweet tasting opioid for the price of a bottle of cola.

Other individuals become addicted to codeine and begin to use it to manage other problems in their lives, such as emotional pain or stresses due to the euphoric feelings it causes.

According to Idris, someone who becomes physically dependent upon codeine cannot stop the drug without supervision of a trained medical professional because of the following effects he/she will experience if stopped suddenly:

Mood symptoms from the abuse of codeine include euphoria, feeling of calm, depression, anxiety, mood swings, among others. Similarly, behavioural symptoms include drowsiness, decreased appetite and apathy.

The physical symptoms are constipation, blue tinge to lips and fingernails, muscle twitches, dizziness, fainting, nausea and vomiting, dry mouth, itching, rashes, urinary retention, hypotension, seizure, respiratory depression, decreased libido, seizures.

The psychological symptoms are hallucinations, delusions, memory loss and lack of emotions.

Someone who becomes physically dependent upon codeine cannot stop the drug without supervision of a trained medical professional because of the following effects he/she will experience if stopped suddenly craving for the drug, runny nose, intense sweating, chills, goosebumps, stomach cramps, psychosis, suicidal thoughts and hallucination.

Rehabilitation: Cases of codeine addiction should be referred to State Health Facilities for expert management.

New Telegraph