Jadi Suleiman The operation of the present international drug control system is based on the principle of national control by various states as well as international cooperation between these states and UN bodies in compliance with the provisions of various international drug control treaties such as those of 1961, 1972 and 1988. It is in compliance with the UN Convention directives of 1988 that Nigeria domesticated the international law and established the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency(NDLEA) via Decree No. 48 of 1989 (now CAP No. 30, LFN 2004 as amended) to tackle the problem of crimes as they relate to illicit drug trafficking and abuse. 4.2 What is Electoral Violence? Electoral violence can be defined as any form of behaviour arising from an organized use of physical, psychological and structural force to cause damage to property, kill or injure individual or group, aimed at intimidating and blackmailing such group or individual before, during and after elections in order to influence the outcome of the election. 4.3 What is Drug? The term drug has no single definition. To the pharmacist, it is a chemical preparation for diagnosis, prevention or treatment of disease or ailments. For a layman, the word is synonymous with medicine. However, in the law enforcement circle, a workable definition is used thus: a drug is any chemical substance which when taken into the body system by any means changes the functions of the body or behaviour of the user. In this definition, three points need to be noted, viz: 66 Drug Use and Elections a. As a chemical substance, a drug may be natural or synthetic. b. The change in the body functions could be physical or psychological or both. c. The substance can be taken into the body orally, by injection, smoking, sniffing, inhaling or even rubbing on the skin. 4.4 What is Drug Abuse? Drug abuse is characterised by taking more than recommended dose of prescribed drugs such as barbiturates without medical supervision or using government controlled substances such as cocaine, marijuana, heroin etc. Legal substances like alcohol and nicotine are also abused by many people. 4.5 Classification of Illicit Drug/Substances of Abuse Illicit drug abuse can be identified in the use of the following substances: a. Stimulants: They are categories of drugs that increase the activities of the CNS. Some of the commonly abused drugs under this category are cocaine and amphetamine. Cocaine is derived from coca leaves grown in South American countries. Medically it is used as anaesthesia for surgery. Amphetamines on the other hand are used primarily for the treatment of narcolepsy, as sleep disorder characterised by sudden sleep attacks during the day by producing a calm effect. However, its abuse often leads to dependency with attendant consequences such as high alertness, elevated mood, etc. 67