Latest Survey by National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) has shown that the number of Kenyans consuming bhang has increased by 90 percent in the past 5 years.
The report showed that a total of 193,430 youth aged 15 – 24 years (one in every 37) were currently using cannabis translating to a 2.7 per cent prevalence.
The figure for those aged 25 – 35 years stands at 174,142 (one in every 48) translating to a 2.1 per cent prevalence rate.
In every 53 Kenyans aged 15 – 65 years, an approximate population of 518,807 people, are currently using the drug.
The highest consumption of the drug was recorded in Nairobi with a percentage of 6.3% followed by Nyanza (2.4%) and Coast (1.9%).
The study done in 2022 was conducted in selected clusters spread across the 47 counties in the country and sampled Kenyans aged 15 to 65 years. It was a follow-up survey to the 2007, 2012 and 2017 five-year surveys.
The total number of individual interviews received was 3,314, translating to an individual response rate of 87 per cent.
On the list of the most abused drugs in the nation, tobacco topped the list followed by alcohol, Miraa and bhang was ranked fourth.
