Marijuana’s impact on students is largely negative, as it can affect their memory, concentration, and motivation.
Walk into any Nigerian campus today, and you will sense it _ a quiet shit in youth culture.
Behind the chatter, the laughter, and the loud Afrobeats blaring from hostel speakers, there is something else spreading: the easy acceptance of marijuana.
It is no longer a hidden vice. For many students, it is now part of ‘’vibes’’, part of belonging.
Yet, beneath the smoke and slang lies a serious problem eating deep into the very heart of our campuses.
Let us be honest – being a student in Nigeria is not easy. School fees are high, the system is stressful, and the future looks uncertain.
Marijuana’s Impact On Students
Between endless strikes, tight pockets, and rising unemployment, many students are searching for an escape.
Unfortunately, marijuana has become that false escape route. What starts as ‘’just one puff’’ often grows into something much darker.
At first, it feels harmless. A little smoke to ‘’relax ‘’ or to ‘’ginger’’ the brain during night reading. But after a while, things begin to change. Focus slips. Memory weakens.
Suddenly, lectures become boring, test feel harder, and the once – bright student starts to drift.
Marijuana dulls the mind. It blurs clarity and kills curiosity. Before long, reading becomes a struggle and grades starts falling.
It does not stop there. Marijuana quietly drains motivation. It tricks the user into comfort, whispering that everything is fine, even when life is sliding off the track.
The energy to push, to dream, to hustle – fades away.
Nigerian students known for their resilience and hunger for success, become shadows of their former selves.
Some drop out; others just move through school, empty-eyed and disconnected. The mental effects are just as scary. Many students who smoke heavily begin to battle anxiety and mood swings.
Marijuana’s Impact On Students
Some become paranoid, convinced everyone is watching them. A few even slides into depression, feeling hopeless and trapped.
Sadly, because mental health is still a taboo subject in many Nigerian homes, these struggles go unnoticed until it is too late.
Then there is the social side. Marijuana changes circles. A student who once kept calm company starts spending more time with those who ‘’understand the life’’.
Soon, parties replace classes. Lies replace honesty. The need to smoke becomes the new priority.
Parents notice the change, lecturers complain, and friends grow tired of covering up. By then, the student has lost more than grades – they have lost trust.
It is a slippery slope. Marijuana often opens the door to stronger substances – codeine, tramadol, crack.
When the body gets use to one high, it starts craving another. That is how addiction creeps in.
We have seen brilliant students spiral down the road, trading potential for momentary pleasure.
Physically, the damage is real too. The constant coughing bloodshot eyes, and weak energy are only the beginning.
The lungs suffer, appetite drops and sleep pattern breaks. Overtime, the body becomes dependent on the drug to function.
Marijuana’s Impact On Students
Many users tell themselves they can quit anytime – but the truth is most cannot.
It is easy to point fingers at these students, but the problem is bigger than them. Society has made it worse. Music videos glorify ‘’getting high’’.
Some influencers boast about it online like it is a sign of maturity. Even in some hostels, smoking has become a badge of ‘’street credibility’’.
When impressionable students see all that, they start to believe it is normal.
Let us not forget the system itself. Most campuses in Nigeria have no proper counselling units.
Even when they exist, students do not take them seriously. Lecturers are too busy, parents are too harsh, and many schools treat drug issues like normal failure instead of a health problem.
That is why may students suffer silently. They do not need judgement; they need help.
So, what can be done? For one, awareness must go beyond slogans. Schools should organize honest, relatable talks – not those stiff lectures that student sleep through.
Peer educators can make a difference too. When young people hear from fellow students who have fought and overcame addiction, it hits differently.
Parents must also step up. Instead of shouting or threatening, they should listen more.
Marijuana’s Impact On Students
Many young people turn to drugs because they feel unseen at home. Love, not fear, keeps them closer.
The NDLEA, too, needs to do more than raids and arrests. Rehabilitation, not just punishment, should be a priority. A student who falls into drugs use is not a criminal – they are a person in need of guidance and second chances.
Religious and community leaders should join the fight as well. Their voices carry weight.
If they speak openly about the realities of drug use – not just in sermons but in conversations, young people will start to see the truth behind the ‘’high’’.
The reality is simple: marijuana is robbing Nigerian students of their dreams. You can see it in the hostels, in the droopy eyes during morning lectures, in the once-sharp minds now dulled by smoke.
Every puff takes something away – a little bit of focus, a little bit of ambition, a little bit of tomorrow.
Nigeria’s future rests in the hands of its youth. But what happens when those hands are too weak to build because they are holding a wrap?
Marijuana’s Impact On Students
What happens when bright minds that should be inventing, creating, and leading are instead battling addiction.
It is time to stop pretending this is a ‘’foreign problem.’’
It is here, on our campuses, in our hostels, and in our communities. The sooner we face it, the better chance we have at saving a generation that is slowly slipping in clouds of smoke.
In the end, marijuana does not make life easier. It only makes escaping it harder. The high fades. The problem remains.
The lost time never comes back. Nigerian students deserve better – a system that supports them, a society that guides them, and a culture that values their future over fleeting pleasure.
The fight against marijuana use is not just about drugs. It is about dreams – and whether we will let them go up in smoke.
Marijuana’s Impact On Students
