Abstract:
Kenya like any other country of the world has experienced the impact of drug and substance abuse and there is a need for people to become responsible citizens both nationally and internationally. Consequently, the government has continued to reform its institutions and training sector to respond to these emerging challenges thus ensuring that the country’s goals and aspirations are realized. Human resource is the epicenter of a viable nation as it seen as the primary means of promoting social mobility, national cohesion and socio-economic development. Healthy and viable population is a tool for building a united democratic country, which is characterized by national consciousness, group solidarity and national cohesion. For the realization of vision 2030 there is need to have productive and well educated and trained youth population. This youth population majorly comes from education system with the university being on the top of the hierarchy. With such young population with fresh blood converge in an institution has proved to be another story altogether. Research has shown that alcohol and marijuana (Cannabis Sativa) are the mostly abused by university students. These substances have reaching adverse physical, social, economic and psychological effects. The present study will investigate factors influencing drug and substance abuse among students of Maasai Mara University, Narok County. Descriptive survey research design will be adopted for this study. A sample size of 30 respondents will be selected proportionately for this study. Questionnaires will be used to collect the relevant data. To ensure validity of the research instrument, the researcher will seek opinions of experts in the field of study. Data will be analyzed using descriptive statistics, this include frequency counts and percentages. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 17.0 computer software will be used for analysis. The findings of this study will be useful in understanding those factors that influence drug abuse among university students.
