The unprecedented attention which has been given by the government towards the substance use and abuse exclusively indicate how rampant substance abuse has been in the country.
A plethora and myriad of drugs have been alluded as names such as cocaine, heroin and marijuana are now national anthems in various neighborhoods. The evolution and emergency of a genre of music in the country called Zimdancehall which epitomizes the use of drugs through its artists such as Soul Jah love and She Calaz was another prominent factor which led to the veneration of drugs and substance abuse among many of the youths in the country.
The popularity of the drugs in the country has reached an alarming level where there is now the propensity and proclivity of formulating special names for the drugs.
Our vernacular language has been used to confuse the law enforcement authorities so that they will never be able to comprehend the discussions pertaining to the use of drugs and such names as, “Dombo”, “Manginde”, “Tumbwa” are now being used to reflect to most of the drugs. According to Mandivengerei (2019) Zimbabwe has one of the highest unemployment rates in southern Africa and this has left many of their productive age without anything to do and this has culminated and forced them to engage into drugs as escapism for the harsh reality which is prevalent in the social environment. Interestingly, the suppliers of drugs in Zimbabwe have understood the economic tandem and have brought in different types of drugs which can range from as little as the smallest denomination of money printed by the government and this has instantly being portrayed by the users as a magnanimous steps towards the mere realization of meditation. Thus, high unemployment levels in Zimbabwe amongst the youths have been singled out as one of the chief causes which has necessitated the unprecedented use and abuse of substances such as cocaine and heroin among others.
The Mbinga syndrome has jeopardized any hope of having youths who are willing to strive and thrive for the best of their abilities as many of the youths have men and woman without traceable history give them social pressure on the accumulation and squandering of money on social media. Prominent individuals such as Passion Java, Mike Chimombe , Ginimbi, Fally, Wicknell Chivhayo among a host of social media bamboos have given a lot of unforeseen pressure on how to be rich but none of them have a history which can be tracked and understood. Social media bloomers who positively portrays their sumptuousness and opulence on social media have brought the perception and perspective that if you are not living like them, then you are playing with life. This societal pressure has forced many of the people into oblivion and have preferred solace which emanates from psychedelics meditation. The economic situation in the country is volatile and inflation is skyrocketing but a handful of social media influencers have become the present-day King Louis XVI and Madame Marie Antoinette of the French revolution in 1789 and this has driven many of the youths into the use of substance use.
Languishing in poverty and social dilapidation has forced the girlchild to invent a name for social mingling and mixing known as, “Machills”. These social events have been catastrophic to the girlchild as the end result has been concluded as being drug abused and subsequently followed by rape. These social events are marked and characterized by, “Shisha smoking” something which is 10 times more dangerous than nicotine. Many girls have been introduced to drugs and victimized at these events mainly by those who would have invited them for sexual pleasure, and this is the reality which has been transpiring in many of these communities. According to a World Health Organisation (WHO) 2019 report, Zimbabwe has the highest rate of 15 to 19-year-olds engaging in heavy “episodic drinking” in Africa, with 70.7 percent of males and 55.5 percent of females participating. The use of drugs among the productive age of the country has had serious impacts on the Gross National Product (GNP) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as those who are supposed to be productive are always drowsy and this has become a serious destabilizing factors to the potentiality of the country.
Studies and researches which have been conducted have deduced various causes for drug abuse and use among the many youth in the country. According to UNICEF (2021) some of the causes of rampant drug abuse are, fit in or for entertainment, escape reality or relax, relieve boredom, rebellious behaviour, and experiment. Peer pressure and the adventurous nature of the adolescents have often led to their initiation to drugs and the effects which have been noticed have been dreadful. The Diagnostic Statistical Manual (IV) have alluded some of the symptoms and signs which affect those who have indulged in drug and substance abuse, and this involves the inevitability of hallucinations and delusions including wandering away from home. The natural instinct of life conditions the parents in such a state that they want the best for their children and when they engage into drugs , it further affects them ,thus , the use of drugs has also affected the extended social circles and should be treated as a matter of virtue rather than vice.
On 18 April 2023, the President of Zimbabwe, reinforced his calls to the action that anyone caught showing signs of being intoxicated should be arrested and the supplier should be identified and arrested too. This is the preventative measure which the government is advocating in championing drug and substance abuse which has affected a lot of lives in the country. Law enforcement reactionary and response teams have been activated in each and every province to cater for the drug cartels and this has been a fundamental step which has been taken by the government to curtail the sporadic and spontaneous distribution of drugs within the country of an estimated 16million people. South Africa has also been blatantly affected by drugs such as “Nyaope” and through their campaign titled, “Sikuzothola” have secured entry points of drugs, and this is a swift move which has also been taken by the Zimbabwean immigration officials and are leading to fruition with reference to mitigation as a lot of consignments, thus prevention.
The use of parental control is of immense benefit towards the shunning of drugs by the adolescents mainly of is also of prioritization. Baumrind, a psychology prominence explained that there are different parenting styles and there is the need make sure that there is the correct use of the parenting styles towards adolescents who engaging in drugs. The four parenting styles are authoritarian, authoritative, neglect and pessimistic. The use of the authoritarian and authoritative towards making sure that the children are not exposed to drugs is a necessary tool which can be ignited towards maintaining restraint with reference drug adoration, thus the use of parental prevention through the socio-ecological demarcations and this is how this can be enacted.
Campaign awareness programmes through using the same individuals who used to vaunt and venerate the use of drugs should be organized nationally , and the adolescents should be empowered with the right knowledge with the effects associated with the use of drugs such as the psychotic conditions which they themselves vulnerable and prone to and how the addiction can even affect their financial standpoint , as a large portion of their economic masculinity will be directed towards drug acquisition , thus, substance abuse and use in Zimbabwe , what a cataclysmic.
Mufudzi Maturure writes in his own capacity and is a Psychology student at the Great Zimbabwe University.
