Drug Abuse in Zimbabwe
Drug and Substance abuse in Zimbabwe is commonly by low income & homeless youths. In Harare, drug dealers use young street children to sell and distribute drugs as they are less likely to be imprisoned for the offense. This has resulted in increased access to the drugs by children. [1]
Zimbabwe’s high levels of unemployment and an economic crisis that started around 2000 and has lasted at least 2 decades have been blamed for the increasing abuse of drugs in Zimbabwe.[2].
The actual statistics of drug abuse in Zimbabwe are not currently available.
See Kurarama Trust.
Most Common Abused Drugs & Substances
- Broncleer - Popularly known as Bronco, this is a cough mixture imported from South Africa.
- Mangemba
- Musombodia/Musombodhiya (illicit alcohol brew composed of diluted ethanol or methanol).
- Maragadu
- Codeine
- Chlorpromazine - known on the streets as Dombo (stone), this is a antipsychotic normmally used by mentally ill patients. The drug is available at local pharmacies but one needs a prescription to buy it.
- Blue Diamond
- Cane Spirit
- Mbanje - Marijuana
- Glue
Rehabilitation
Zimbabwe has been reported to have inadequate rehabilitation structures. Drug abusers go through therapy in the country’s health institutions and are released back into the environment that encourages a relapse. Said University of Zimbabwe lecturer and mental health practitioner, Clement Nhunzvi:
They go back into the same environment where there is poverty, unemployment and frustration, which leads them back into drug abuse.
Hospital statistics showed that as many as 60% of all re-admissions during the period from January 2010 to December 2011 were secondary (not new) to substance-induced disorders, and that less than 3% of these service users moved into long-term recovery with follow-up.
This situation was aggravated by the fact that the psychiatric rehabilitation team was faced with an unsupportive environment both in clinical practice and in the community where our clients were expected to recover.[3]
Prominent People That Have Struggled With Drug Addiction
- Soul Jah Luv - Zimdancehall Musician
- Denver Mukamba - Footballer
References
- ↑ JAKAZA, Tafadzwa Ngonidzashea; and NYONI, Chamunongwab. EMERGING DYNAMICS OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE AMONG STREET CHILDREN IN ZIMBABWE. A CASE OF HARARE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT. AJSW, Volume 8 Number 2 2018
- ↑ Tapiwa Zvira, Audio: Inside Harare’s dark illegal drug trafficking syndicates, The Standard, Published 29 Feb 2016, Retrieved: 30 Jul 2019
- ↑ Clement Nhunzvi, AN OCCUPATIONAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE JOURNEY OF RECOVERY FROM SUBSTANCE ABUSE AMONG YOUNG ADULT ZIMBABWEAN MEN, University of Cape Town, Published: August 2014, Retrieved: 30 July 2019
