Vol. 4, Issue 1, Part A (2022)

In recent years, being a country of drug trafficking and transit in West Africa, Ivory coast has become a country of drug consumption. Indeed, in 2016, UNODC study established that 12% of the Ivorian population aged between 14 and 64 years old consume drugs. This dramatic situation is at the root of many security problems throughout the country. According to literature, drug use can lead to more or less severe complications on cognitive abilities. This is particularly alarming as the majority of drug users are teenagers, putting their future at risk. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of narcotics on the memory abilities of users admitted for treatment at the Blue Cross reception centre. 
To this end, an evaluation of their visuospatial memory was carried out by means of the memory test of 9 images of familiar objects. The naming test consisted of pointing out with the finger in the square frame to the box corresponding to the image presented by the investigatorr. The memory performance of pre-withdrawal patients (Prwp), patients undergoing withdrawal (Puw) and post withdrawal patients (Pwp) was compared with that of controls (patients who were not drug users).
The results showed that Prwp and Puw do not pass the test. They therefore have delayed learning, unlike the pwp and controls. Thus, after withdrawal, a progressive recovery of the memory ability of drug users was observed.