Substance Abuse: A Mathematical Model for the Spread of Malicious Habits for Additive Substances

Presented at “Follow your curiosity by Tribeta”, hosted by TriBeta Biological Honor Society

Prof. Divine Wanduku mentored Omotomilola Jegede.

Substance abuse is fast becoming a global health and social problem. Marijuana misuse is ranked second to alcohol abuse by most young people in the world. According to the United Nations, in 2015 over 159 million people around the world use marijuana, this is more than 3.8% of the planet's population. In The United States, more than half of American adults have tried marijuana at least once in their lifetime, and about 22% of them use it habitually. Next, to alcohol, marijuana is the second most frequently found substance in adults or in the bodies of drivers involved in fatal automobile accidents. In this study, a mathematical model is presented for the spread of marijuana smoking. The human population involved. In the model is broken down into four distinct classes: the susceptible class, the passive /dependent class, addicted class, and recovered class. The model is analyzed to find conditions to eradicate the malicious additive habits locally in the population.