Local substances used in Ilorin South Local Government Area of Kwara State, Nigeria.

Objectives: The study investigated the types of local substances used, the reasons for the use, and ways of reducing such behavior to the barest minimum in the Ilorin South Local Government Area of Kwara State, Nigeria. Methods: A phenomenological and exploratory research design was adopted for the study. The participants were purposively selected. The study adopted Semi-structured interviews to collect the data, and the method of data analysis was qualitative. Results: The study showed that ogogoro (local gin), skushies (a mixture of herbs and ogogoro), gerigemu (a mixture of thorn apple and ogogoro), monkey tail (a mixture of weed and ogogoro), dried pawpaw leaves, asa (a mixture of tobacco and other substances), amongst others were the common locally used substances in the study area. These local substances were used for not being expensive to produce, availability, parents' utilization, peer influence, coping strategies, not seen as illegal, and as sources of energy. Conclusion: There are different types of local substances used in the Ilorin South Local Government Area for various reasons. This paper proffers, amongst others, that there is a need for regulating bodies in charge of drug control to extend their surveillance beyond orthodox to reduce local substance use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]