Sarcouncil Journal of Medical Series

Abstract: Drug abuse has become a critical public health and security challenge in Nigeria, with Kano metropolis identified as a major hotspot partly due to the rapid proliferation of drug enterprises and informal drug markets. This study examined the relationship between the proliferation of drug enterprises and drug abuse in Kano metropolis. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted, involving 1,000 respondents drawn through multistage cluster and purposive sampling across eight metropolitan local government areas, complemented by in-depth interviews with key stakeholders. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS with correlation and regression techniques, while qualitative data were thematically analyzed. Findings revealed strong and statistically significant positive relationships between the proliferation of drug enterprises and drug abuse (r = .724), youth criminality (r = .681), crime rate (r = .697), and diversion of licit drugs (r = .589). Regression results further showed that socio-economic factors; unemployment, poverty, low income, and economic hardship significantly predicted the upsurge of drug enterprises, jointly explaining 34.7% of the variance. The study concludes that increased availability of drugs through expanding drug enterprises, reinforced by adverse socio-economic conditions, fuels drug abuse and related social problems in Kano metropolis. It therefore recommends stricter regulatory enforcement targeting drug enterprises by monitoring their operations to prevent their escalation, establishment and monitoring of coordinated wholesale centers, youth-focused socio-economic empowerment programs, and strengthened multi-stakeholder collaboration in prevention, and sensitization efforts to effectively address drug enterprises proliferation and hike in drug abuse in the study area.