The Effect of Marijuana Abuse on the Social Welfare of the Youth Living in Kasokoso Village, Kireka Parish, Kira Town Council, Uganda.

ABSTRACT:
The main purpose of this study was to examine the effect of Marijuana abuse on the social welfare of the youth living in Kasokoso village, with the objectives;
To find out to what extent marijuana abuse contributes to unemployment among the youth;
To establish whether marijuana abuse affects the health of the youth;
To discuss the different levels of insecurity due to Marijuana abuse;
To identify and assess the various interventions that combat marijuana abuse among the youth.
A cross sectional research design was used with quantitative and qualitative methods. Qualitative methods were used to explain opinions, attitudes and perceptions of the respondents concerning the effect of Marijuana abuse to the social welfare of the youth.
The findings revealed various ways in which Marijuana abuse can lead to unemployment among the youth including discrimination at home and other places (27.5%), violence by the abusers (25%), absenteeism from jobs or schools, (31.3%), ineffectiveness of the abusers at the work place (16.2%). The findings imply that involvement in Marijuana abuse can lead to being discriminated where they stay or work and the likelihood of becoming violent to other people within their environment.
Furthermore, the more the youth get involved in Marijuana abuse, the higher the chances of losing the jobs or not getting jobs. It was established that the social welfare of the youth abusing marijuana can be affected through different levels of insecurity, including psychological insecurity due to affected thinking level; economic insecurity due to reduced contribution into family, community or national economic activities; political insecurity where the abusers may become threats to the physical and political security of their community and that marijuana abuse can be a risk factor for health conditions for it exposes the youth to heart related diseases, psychosis and schizophrenia as well as depression and anxiety.
It is recommended that policy makers and other key players should enforce policies and laws to regulate use of Marijuana and create opportunities that keep the youth away from idleness and integrate comprehensive community action to reduce Marijuana abuse and secure a better future for the youth.