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Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Reporter
APART from hard drugs such as cocaine and crystal meth that are being abused by the youths, authorities have raised concern over the uptake of non-conventional substances including powder from lamps, burning and sniffing of disposable nappies among others.
The country is battling with an increase in substance abuse and President Mnangagwa recently launched the National Anti-Drug and Substance Abuse Campaign.
Authorities in psychiatric hospitals such as Ingutsheni Central Hospital have previously revealed that most youths are admitted at the facilities due to drug abuse.
It has been previously reported that learners in schools in Victoria Falls, some as young as Grade One, have been snorting powders from powdered drinks in the same manner that drug addicts sniff cocaine.
While hard drugs are expensive the non-conventional ones are said to be cheap and easily accessible to most young people who abuse substances.
Bulawayo provincial chairperson on Supply Reduction pillar in the inter-ministerial Taskforce on Drug Abuse and Substance Abuse Mr Munotyei Muparadzi said while more attention is given to hard drugs there is a need to also put more focus on the abuse of non-conventional drugs.
He said this on Wednesday at the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport where a national inter-ministerial Taskforce on Drug Abuse and Substance Abuse was conducting an assessment tour of the airport’s preparedness to detect drug traffickers.
“The trajectory for drug abuse is increasing across the country especially among the youths. At the moment there is also the advent of what is known as the non-conventional substances. I think all of us have heard stories of youths abusing things like disposable nappies, youths abusing things like bulbs, youths abusing medicines like Broncleer, abusing medicines for mental health patients among others. This is the scourge that we also need to look at because it’s not only hard drugs which are a menace,” he said.
Acting Regional Immigration officer Mr Lucky Matyora shared similar sentiments, saying the non-conventional drugs include anything that members of the public take to get high and are easily accessible.
“Non-conventional drugs are prevalent, they are being used. The most abused substance is the everyday substance used in homes, sunlight liquid, air freshener and everything that can make people high. Some of them it’s through experiments, some of them we have our children in high school, children studying chemistry and in the absence of parents they do their experiments and they get high,” said Mr Matyora.
In an interview, national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said collective efforts are needed if the country is to successfully deal with the drug menace.
Asst Comm Nyathi said some vendors were even selling cakes laced with drugs to the public.
“President ED Mnangagwa has set up an inter-ministerial taskforce but one of the challenges that we face is that drug related activities take place in homes and in some instances, in Bulawayo and Harare drugs are being abused where people will be drinking beer. As they are drinking beer, they are trading in drugs and some of the drugs are being sold by women. We have arrested women in Harare in Chitungwiza, we have arrested women here in Makokoba for dealing with cocaine just imagine. We really need to put our heads together if we are to fight the menace of drugs,” said Asst Comm Nyathi.
“Even in some colleges we have a challenge of drugs, Form Three and Form Four boys getting involved in drug peddling. We also have some cakes where we have some vendors selling cakes laced with drugs and they are selling them to the children and in the process it affects the whole society.”
He said police made several arrests and conducted anti-drug related campaigns but to effectively deal with the scourge there is a need for the society to get involved.
He also said some of the drugs are smuggled into the country from neighbouring countries while police have arrested others at the country’s airports.
Asst Comm Nyathi said of concern is that some Zimbabweans are part of the international drug trafficking syndicates. — @nqotshili
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