According to the most recent survey by the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA), the number of people using weed, also known as bhang, has increased by 90% in the last five years.
A Study on the "Status of Drugs and Substance Use (DSU) in Kenya, 2022," issued on Monday, shows that one in every 53 Kenyans aged 15 to 65 years, or an estimated population of 518,807 people, now take the drug.
One in every 26 are males (475,770), and one in every 333 are females (43,037). Nairobi had the greatest percentage of drug consumption (6.3%), followed by Nyanza (2.4%) and Coast (1.9%).
Cannabis was fourth on the list of the most misused drugs in the country, trailing Khat, also known as Miraa, Tobacco, and Alcohol, which topped the list.
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Using the same age demographic of 15-65 years, it was discovered that around 3,199,119 persons used alcohol, most of whom were from Western Kenya.
Nairobi has the highest frequency of produced legal alcohol (10.3%), followed by Central (10.0%) and Eastern (8.4%).
The Western region had the biggest use of chang'aa and traditional spirits, while the Central region had the highest use of potable spirits.
Tobacco users numbered approximately 2,305,929 in Kenya, with the bulk in Central Kenya.
Miraa chewers were most prevalent in the Eastern area, with 964,737 recorded nationwide.
The poll was conducted in selected clusters nationwide, surveying Kenyans aged 15 to 65. The sample was from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics' Kenya Household Master Sample Frame (K-HMSF).
According to NACADA, the survey is a follow-up to the DSU five-year surveys conducted in 2007, 2012, and 2017. It is used as an evaluation tool to examine the performance of drug and substance use demand and supply reduction programs implemented in the previous five years.
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