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Mangaliso Kabulika
A NEW baseline study on drug and substance abuse in the country has found that marijuana, commonly referred to as mbanje, is the drug of choice among adolescents in urban areas.
The report shows that 58.3 percent of commonly used drugs among adolescents were mbanje, musombodhiya/tumbwa, crystal meth and Bronclear.
Evidence suggests those who use mbanje later on can experience psychotic issues.
Abuse of the drug has become a hidden occupation, with users growing it in their backyards, posing a challenge to stakeholders in tackling the issue.
Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Development and Vocational Training director of strategic policy planning, monitoring and evaluation, Dr Blazio Manobo, said:
“This drug is easily available as they can plant it at the backyard of a house and can access it anywhere in their communities.
“Coming up with a strategy to deal with the problems associated with mbanje is going to take a toll on stakeholders unlike for other drugs.”
Bongani Ndlovu
Mathew Masinge