| dc.description.abstract | Marijuana is a sedative drug, acting on the central nervous system to create a sense of relaxation, reduce sensations of pain, and slow your body's involuntary processes. Marijuana can affect your working memory, interfere with your ability to concentrate and make it difficult for your brain to process information. The report from Rwanda police shows that every month there are victims of marijuana abuse arrested and imprisoned because of increasing marijuana abuse in country. This has a big effect on health care, economic cost of the country and poses a growing public health problem to the country. This study was set to determine the factors contributing to marijuana use among secondary school students.
A cross-sectional study was carried out involving 270 students from St Andre Secondary school in Nyarugenge district in Rwanda. Using stratified sampling a specific number of students was selected from all classes from senior one to six; and simple random sampling used to select the individual students who participated in the study. The data was collected at a point in time using a self-administered questionnaire that was given to students. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 16 and data presented using tables, graphs and charts. Pearson‟s chi-square test was used to show the association between the variables under the study (p<0.05).
A large proportion of students reported to be using marijuana (26%) despite the fact that the students were found to have adequate knowledge on the effects of the use of marijuana. The socio-economic factors associated with the use marijuana included; sex, age, religion and being in the day section of the school. Familial factors such as availability of marijuana at home and existence of domestic violence at home was associated with the use of marijuana among students Therefore, parents, teachers and local leaders should unite against marijuana use among students. | en_US |
