Introduction

Substance use, including alcohol, tobacco, and other illicit drugs is a growing public health and socio-economic problem worldwide (Cheuyem, 2025). The rapid political changes and precarious socio-economic nature of some developing countries especially in Sub-Saharan Africa accentuates the consumption of illicit substances. Hence, this inevitably buttresses activities of the illegal informal economy. Those usually affected by illicit substance consumption are adolescents between the ages of 10–18. According to the World Drug Report of 2023, an estimated 296 million people aged between 15–64 years used drugs worldwide in 2021, representing 23% increase over the previous decade (Ekwoge, 2024:2) especially alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, shisha, tramadol amongst others. Over the past five years, the Fako Division in the South West region of Cameroon particularly Buea has experienced an increase in drug consumption as a result of the Anglophone Conflict. It should be noted that prior to the Anglophone Conflict, drug trafficking in Buea existed or has been eventually taken place. The Anglophone Conflict made this ill activity more favorable due to the high level of insecurity. This conflict heightens the illegal activities of the informal economy such as prostitution and drug trafficking.

Objective

To understand how the informal economy accentuates the proliferation of illegal substance consumption in Buea, we need to identify the different types of drugs consumed. The factors that push people, adolescents and youth to consume drugs. Also, knowing the pattern of movement, marketing and demand of drugs. Consequences and measures to put in place in order to combat drug consumption in the Buea municipality.

Conceptualization

Informal Economy: In every sector of the economy, whether formal or informal economies in any country, the predation of the criminal sector often appropriates resources and opportunities. This is so because of the high demand of what is prohibited. The formal economy encompasses all economic activities that are regulated, recorded, and taxed by government authorities (Lah, 2024:1).  On the other hand, the informal economy includes all economic activities that escape the control and regulations of the State either by choice or necessity (Lah, 2024:1). Depending on compliance and prevailing social and legal norms, the formal economy can be divided as legal and illegal. On like informal activities that are compliant and legal, informal activities that are not legal and compliant are perceived as dangerous for the health. Criminal activities lucrative and dangerous for individuals in terms of health and social cohesion operate in the “cover”. By this, we refer to such activities as the “dark side” of the informal economy. For instance drug trafficking, prostitution, child trafficking, extortion amongst others. For this write up, we are concern with drug trafficking as an illicit sector or derivative of the informal economy.

Drug Proliferation: The proliferation of illicit drugs is informed by the ease with which people access and consume illegal drugs in Buea. This proliferation is accentuated by corruption of security personnel or State officials. According to the International Narcotics Control Board (2024:3), the rapid expansion of synthetic drug manufacture and consumption in recent years is posing considerable challenges to public health and the international drug control system. The proliferation of psychoactive substances, including non-medical synthetic opioids, provides illicit actors with limitless to fundamentally reshape drug market. The World Health Organization (WHO, 2004) defines a drug as any substance with the capacity to modify its user’s consciousness and behavior. Adolescents constitute a particular vulnerable population, and in Cameroon, they are highly exposed to different types of drugs including illicit ones, as most drugs are highly accessible.

Typology of Illicit Drugs Common in Buea

In a study conducted in Yaoundé by Isabelle et al., (2024) on the “Factors Associated with Drug Use Among Secondary and High School adolescents”, the common drugs consumes by secondary and high school adolescents include heroin, diazepam, tramadol, cocaine, ecstasy, cannabis, solvent, tobacco, hookah, and alcohol. Through observation and peer pressure, adolescents as well as youths (18–35 years) involve themselves in substance consumption for adventure and pleasure. The ease with which these drugs are available and accessible is a matter of not only public health concerns but also of social, economic and security concerns. This inevitably exposes a breakdown in the fight against drug consumption in homes and schools.

Causes of Drug Proliferation

When it comes to drug proliferation in Buea, two major factors could be advanced; the porous border control and the Anglophone conflict that characterizes region.

Drug proliferation in Buea results from the porous nature of national boundaries. The importation of illegal drugs and substances are usually imported. For instance, cocaine, diazepam, ecstasy, tramadol, heroine, cigarette, are usually smuggled into the country by people who travel abroad and come back or from a neighboring country like Nigeria. Since borders are porous or security checks are weak or boarder control personnel are corrupt, it eases the ability for drugs to be smuggled. The porous nature of Cameroonian national boundaries is not the only factor that explains drug proliferation in Buea in its entirety. The Anglophone conflict also serves as an explanatory factor. The Anglophone conflict at its peak created an atmosphere where the security is highly vulnerable as State security forces put their efforts in combating armed groups. However, while hostilities are directed towards State security forces and armed groups, smugglers take the advantage to smuggle their drugs in Buea. More to this, because drug trafficking is profitable, the few people who get involve in the activity create a strong cartel. The lack of employment or good pay jobs are amongst why some people get involved in drug trafficking in Buea. This is because they struggle to meet up with social and economic needs. This is very common among university students making unemployment among youths and most especially university graduates a matter of concern to the authorities of the Buea Municipality and government authorities in the South West region and Cameroon in general.

Causes of Drug Consumption in Buea

According to George (2005) in Ayukosok et al., (2023:922), families manipulate their roles of socializing and caring for children according to their cultural norms and values and leaves the children to learn from peer groups through interaction, without the families being aware of what they are doing. This is common because some parents on their parts show little or no concern on what their children do or their friends. Concerning parental attitude, the inverse relationship observed with substance use implies that parents who display a greater degree of tolerance towards substances with potential for abuse are more likely to have children who will become substance use victims (Ekwoge et al. 2024:7).

Also, traumatic family experiences such as children being abandoned as a result of the Anglophone crisis or children who witnessed a parent or both killed in the crisis are vulnerable and likely to consume hard substances. Moreover, childhood neglect, homelessness or abuse are push factors for drug consumption in Buea. Psychological imbalances affect children and at the same time, push adolescent children to consume illicit substances in order to relieve them from what is happening in their lives. Initially, most adolescents consume drugs as an experimental or recreational venture. However, abuse could lead to drug addiction and disorder. Also, some family members expose their young ones to opportunities that facilitate substance consumption like clubbing.

Peer influence or pressure is equally significant push factor for drug consumption in Buea especially among adolescents and youths. The reality of peer influence is that adolescents and youths (street children and those in homes) often want to belong to a particular group. This is so because it permits them to feel self-confident or to affirm their personality. Youths associate with different types of people otherwise known as friends, through the pressure from these friends, a child tends to have a taste of these drugs and once this is done, they continue to take it and get addicted to it in the long-run (Fatima, 2017:3). Within school settings, the consumption rate of alcohol, shisha, tobacco and tramadol respectively 82.1%, 46.2%, 25% and 6.1% whereas, cannabis (36.5%) and tobacco (35.9%) are the most consumed among street adolescents (07-09) (Mandeng et al., 2024:1).

Depression is another psychological problem that push people to consume drugs. Depression could lead to emotional imbalance and people affected by this need psychosocial or medical assistance in order to prevent them from seeing drug consumption as a solution or palliative means.

Patterns in the Movement, Marketing and Demand of Drugs

Drug trafficking in Buea uses mechanisms often difficult to identify. In order to conceal precursor and supply chain, traffickers change both movement and marketing strategies in order to stay unidentified and keep costs down and profit margins up as well as to reduce risks of being caught. This is so because drug traffickers are aware of laws and regulatory enforcement. Sometimes small consignments of cocaine, marijuana, tramadol, heroine, diazepam, amongst others are smuggle through couriers and postal service.

Consequences of Drug Consumption

The effect of drug consumption is multivariate. As such, social effects, health effects and financial effects are perceivable.

Social Effect: Drug consumption makes people hyperactive after intake. Abnormalities are perceivable as the behavior of a drug consumer changes. This often leads to misconducts such as begging, abuse, harassment that can lead to rape, and even sexually transmittable diseases.

Health Effect: Consumers of illicit drugs cause damages to their health. This is so because drugs damage the lungs, liver and other organs of the body directly. In worst cases, where an individual becomes addicted, his or her mental health breaks down and their behavior affects others directly or indirectly.

Financial Effect: People addicted to drugs spend more of their money on the purchase of drugs. This makes them financially vulnerable as they tend to consume more drugs (addiction).

Recommendations to combat drug proliferation in Buea

• Parents should monitor the kind of friends their children have in order to prevent them from having bad company.
• Rehabilitation centers should be created to enable drug consumers to recover.
• Also, massive sensitization on the ill effects of drug consumption should be carried in schools, communities and other areas.
• On the part of the government, a trained security unit should be created to combat drug activities.
• Boarder control should increase to prevent illegal activities.

Conclusion

In any economy, the informal economic sector generates both legal and illegal activities. While legal economic activities remain under the control of government authorities, illegal activities often are out of government control. The proliferation of drugs or illicit substances in Buea like any other part of the country is a matter of not only public health concern, it shows that security measures need to be improved in order prevent the circulation and consumption of illicit drugs. In order to mutualize strategies to combat drug proliferation and drug consumption a strategy needs to be put in place associating parents and school authorities to government efforts to combat drug proliferation in Buea.

By Bar. Agbor Balla Flex

Head of ISHR Cameroon

References

• Ayukosok, O., Daru, E. R., Mbanwei, M. S. (2023). Youths and Drug Abuse: Causes, Effects and Counselling Strategies in the Molyko community of Buea Sub-Division in Fako Division of the South West Region of Cameroon, International Journal of Research and Innovative Sciences, Vol. 7. No. 10, pp. 919–928
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