African Drug Abuse

Can recent escalation of drug abuse in Kenya be explained by "native inability to cope with substances"? Or is there more to this myth than meets the eye?

Learn more about this myth in the article Aboriginal Substance Abuse

Today, drugs are a plague on Kenyan society rivalling AIDS.

As in any community around the world, drug abuse and poverty seem to go hand in hand.

• The abuse of legal and illegal drugs is rising exponentially
• Solvents are being increasingly abused. They are often mixed with alcohol to increase potency.
• Abuse of miraa leads to greater abuse of "downers", to counteract the insomnia induced by khat;
• Cough mixtures are stolen and consumed in massive quantities by youth

Before colonisation, drugs and alcohol were part of the cultural practices of the Kenyan community. Most African cultures had strict values and structures around alcohol and drug use. Tobacco and alcohol were mostly for elders while restrictions were placed on youth. Drug abuse simply did not exist because strong social cohesion gave people the security they needed to be strong within themselves.

To find out about the Australian experience of drug use and colonisation, see my article, Aboriginal Drug - Pituri.