DRUG ABUSE IN RURAL AREAS: USER PROFILES AND COMMUNITY IMPACT IN BÉTÉ COUNTRY (GAGNOA SUB-PREFECTURE, CÔTE D’IVOIRE)

The aim of this study was to analyse the impact of drug use in rural areas on the community. The study took place in four Bété villages in the sub-prefecture of Gagnoa (Côte d'Ivoire) and involved one hundred (100) respondents. Data were obtained from semi-structured interviews, individual or group, and participant observation on the realities of consumption, the profiles of users and the disadvantages for the village community. The survey revealed that drug use is a reality in rural areas, with its own specific characteristics compared with urban areas. In terms of profiles, the users are young, out of school, deprived of their plot of land and involved in petty crime (theft and fights). Most of them have no social role, which hinders their social integration in the village. As for drug use, it is marked by multiple consumption of cannabis and psychotropic drugs, accompanied by alcoholic and adulterated energy drinks. Drug clubs and a particular vocabulary enable addicts to conceal their use, which nevertheless peaks at funeral wakes. This consumption causes numerous problems for the community as a whole, including a proliferation of cannabis plantations, theft of property, physical attacks, illegal land sales and the emergence of a deviant counter-culture that undermines customary authority and social cohesion.