The West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists, Kwara/Kogi zone, has warned against indiscriminate use of drugs, saying that they are poison.

Dr Lolu Ojo, the former Chairman, National Drug Distribution Committee, gave this warning, on Tuesday, at a press conference, organised by the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists in Ilorin.

According to him, drugs are poison and only confer benefits to the body when used in measured quantity for a measured period of time.

He described drugs as ‘chemical substances which synthesize or semi-synthesizes’.

According to him, drugs react in a biological and systematic way and change the pattern of behaviour of the system of the body.

Ojo warned that when drugs were used for the purpose not intended for, then there might be the risk of psychological and physiological dependence.

He lamented that drug abuse had eaten deep into the fabric of the society, adding that epidemiological survey previously carried out confirmed the existence of such societal problems.

The pharmacist also warned against excessive intake of alcohol, even as he described it as a drug.

He called for a multi-dimensional approach to solving issues of drug abuse in the society, adding that what children were exposed to now, was different from what people were exposed to in in the past.

“The community needs to look into the problems of drug abuse. The responsibility is on everybody including religious bodies, government, and health stakeholders,” he said.

Ojo called on the Federal Government to begin the implementation of the drug distribution centres, slated for January 2019.

Also speaking at the press conference, Dr Lawal Muhammad of the Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja, lamented that about 90 per cent of the hospitals in Nigeria did not employ the service of pharmacists.

He wondered why trainees or hospital technicians should be the ones dispensing drugs in hospitals and not the pharmacists, describing this as “abnormal”.