Cannabis Use among College Students: The Role of Peers, Media and Other Drugs

Ndegwa Stephen, Ph.D., Daystar University, Kenya

Drug abuse is a global challenge that puts young people at high risk of health-related issues that may have adverse consequences in their lives currently and also in the future. Africa is not left behind by the struggles of drug and cannabis use among the young people. Youth are easily influenced by their peers, social media, and other factors that make them vulnerable to cannabis and other drug use. Those in universities may have more access to cannabis and other drugs due to the freedom of being away from their parents, making them more at risk when it comes to use of drugs than the general population. This study set out to examine factors associated with cannabis use among university students in Kenya. The total sample, obtained using respondent’ driven sampling targeting students using cannabis, was 140. The respondents were assessed using ASSIST and a socio-demographic questionnaire. The results revealed that 53.6% of the respondents had moderate to high risk for cannabis use problems. Peer pressure, media influence, and other drug use were all factors that were found to influence cannabis drug use among university students. The findings of this study are significant to university students, other youths, academic institutions, parents, counselors and psychologists, policy makers and other stakeholders in young people’s lives.

Key Words: Cannabis, peer pressure, media influence, university students, youth