DRUG CONTROL POLICIES IN NIGERIA: A CALL FOR LEGALISATION OF DRUGS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The end of the cold war may have heralded an end to certain strain but among other unforeseen effects, it had also precipitated a significant increase in the flow of illegal drugs across traditional boundaries. After decades of failing to adequately control drug use and trafficking, an even graver problem had emerged, violent drug traffickers had taken the industry hostage and had expanded the frontiers of the illicit trade hence the drug prohibition laws in Nigeria to dismantle the illicit drug industry. The general objective of the study is to expose the populace to the effects of the present drug control policy and give practical policy strategies that can be used to undermine the negative effect of drug trafficking and inevitably bring drug trafficking to an end. One strategy however, being controlled legalisation of drugs had not been fully tested but yet can be said to stifle the effects of drug trafficking on the economies of countries like Nigeria. The paper adopts the doctrinal approach. This article will be of help to policy makers as well as the generality of Nigerian citizens in our common determination to launch an attack on drug traffickers and ultimately for the eradication of drug trafficking while enhancing the economy of Nigeria.