Social workers, the world over, agree that early initiation into drug use is almost a definite predictor of future drug abuse and dependence.
People, whose drug use started before the age of 13, have been proved to be more vulnerable to drug problems later in life.
For Joel Kiwanuka, a 22-year-old Uganda man, this analysis certainly rings true.
Kasirye says he was a young pupil of Primary Two in Mapera Primary School, when he first experimented with drugs. Before his 13th birthday, he had run away from home, lived on the streets of Kampala and had been arrested by the police. He was a known drug addict, using all locally available drugs apart from heroin.
Kasirye's life was one of a hustler, doing odd jobs to get 100 shillings to buy a stick of marijuana for his next fix. But he survived the worst. He is now fully recovered and is working as a Peer Leader at Uganda Youth Development Link.
(Uganda Radio Network) caught up with Kasirye and asked him about his story of initiation and survival in the hedonistic world of drugs.
Cue in: iMany guys were taking #i
Cue out: i# I'm at the university.i//
