When easy cash fuels drug crisis among youth

Let's have an honest conversation about an unfolding crisis, where we see flashy social media live shows, whispered success stories of "easy money" from platforms like OnlyFans, and the growing trend of monetising intimacy online.

To a young person where economic pressure is immense, this looks like an escape route. The creative economy is booming, and we're talking about influencers making millions a year, and major platforms actively training thousands of creators. But we are also witnessing a silent pipeline, a direct path from digital self-exploitation to substance abuse and addiction. The relationship between these activities is not coincidental; it is causal and deeply corrosive.

Think about it. You're maybe fresh out of campus, facing a highly competitive job market, where 71 per cent of your peers are scrambling for side hustles just to survive. The desperation is real, such that when someone slides into your DMs offering a way to make serious money by simply being on camera, it sounds like an answered prayer.

But here's the part they don't tell you, that after you have performed the acts that violate your conscience, your soul aches. You can't sleep, you can't rest, and the question becomes: how do you find peace again? All too frequently, the answer is alcohol, cannabis, or harder substances. This is not speculation; it is a documented reality playing out in our communities.

Research among female sex workers in Nairobi reveals that nearly 30 per cent report harmful alcohol use, 21.5 per cent report harmful amphetamine use, and 16.9 per cent report harmful cannabis use. And when you dig deeper into the qualitative interviews, the stories behind the numbers tell us everything we need to know. Many turn to alcohol and cannabis "to cope with sex work," using substances to lower their inhibitions, numb the emotional toll, and find the courage to negotiate with clients.

What starts as a coping mechanism slides into an addiction that consumes everything. The more money you make, the more expensive the addiction gets, trapping you in a cycle of exploitation. It's a vicious cycle that eats you from the inside out.

More concerning is a complex drug landscape emerging among our youth that goes far beyond the traditional substances. The latest data from NACADA paints a grim picture: 45.6 per cent of university students have experimented with drugs or alcohol, and alarmingly, 26.6 per cent are current users. While alcohol and cannabis dominate, we are seeing a rapid rise in vaping, nicotine pouches, and cannabis edibles, often glamorised on the very same platforms where "easy money" is being sold to the youth.

The "fast money" of the digital hustle creates a terrible paradox.  You start using substances to cope with the work, but soon the substance abuse becomes so expensive it consumes your earnings, and you find yourself trapped. The effects go beyond the wallet, though. You sacrifice your reputation, your community, and your peace of mind. The isolation and stigma drive you deeper into destructive habits, as one in twelve students now battles severe addiction and many face moderate-to-severe depression.

The social consequences you face- rejection from family and friends, being seen as an "enemy of the family" as the original post so powerfully described- only worsen the stress, creating a need for more potent numbing agents.

And after you have tasted that "fast" money, legitimate work feels impossibly slow. Your nervous system is wired for the hustle, for the constant adrenaline, and most jobs won't touch you anyway, scared of being associated with you. The trap locks shut. This is why this trend is a critical battlefield affecting our nation's future.

-The writer is NACADA Deputy Director, Corporate Communications. [e-mail]