Zimbabwe battles youth drug abuse

An intricate web of powerful individuals, corrupt police operatives and lowly vendors had been bringing drugs to users on the streets, in particular Zimbabwean teenagers and young adults, causing Zimbabwe to be riddled with drugs in recent months.

It is a vice common among youths from the ghetto, Zimbabwe's poor and crime-ridden suburbs.

In the country's latest nationwide anti-drug blitz, more than 2,000 people have been nabbed, the police department said.

As of Monday, 2,152 suspects had been arrested for crimes involving unlawful possession, use, trafficking or dealing in illegal substances.

Drug-related crimes have been rampant in Zimbabwe, once regarded as transit point for dangerous drugs.

Recently eight teenage students at a private girls school in the capital Harare were expelled after school authorities found illicit drugs in their bags during a school trip, highlighting the harsh reality of substance abuse in country.

Research has shown that young people take drugs as a stress reliever against poverty and unemployment.

Other common drivers include peer pressure, broken families, emotional and physical abuse, and curiosity, often resulting in addiction.

Commonly abused drugs include cannabis, crystal methamphetamine and unprescribed cocaine.

The drug scourge has been blamed on factors such as youth exposure to technological gadgets, weak policing, and an increase in child-headed households due to parent migration, neglect or death.

Zimbabwe's prolonged school closures due to the pandemic also saw idle students turn to drugs to fight boredom.

Statistics show that many recent admissions to Zimbabwe's mental health hospitals are a result of drug abuse.

Parirenyatwa Marimba, medical superintendent for Zimbabwe's second-biggest mental health hospital Ngomahuru in Masvingo city, said 80 percent of admissions are juvenile and adult patients presented with drug-induced psychosis.

In a recent speech, President Emmerson Mnangagwa called for a concerted approach in fighting the scourge.

The writer is a freelance journalist for China Daily.