The ManicaPost
IN attempting to crystalise drug and substance abuse, which has become a global hot potato, renowned psychoanalyst and post-trauma specialist, Clarissa Pinkola Estés observed that: “Substance abuse is a very real trap.
“Drugs and alcohol are very much like an abusive lover who treats you well at first and then beats you up; apologises, gives you nice treatment for a while and then beats you up again. The trap is in trying to hang on in there for the good while trying to overlook the bad. Wrong. That can never work.”
This succinctly summarises how communities all over the world are grappling with this problem to find a lasting solution.
Zimbabwe has not been spared and closer to home in Manicaland, communities are battling to tackle the menace.
Owing to its proximity to the porous border, the province continues experiencing an influx of drugs and other dangerous substances that are smuggled for consumption and peddling, especially by young people.
Elsewhere in this issue, we carry a story delving into how Manicaland is grappling with the problem of drug abuse.
Drugs commonly abused at local hotspots include broncleer (bronco), mandrax, hashish, crystal methamphetamine, cannabis and cocaine, among others.
While marijuana (mbanje) is allegedly grown in border areas of Chipinge, Chimanimani, Mutasa and Nyanga, some of it is getting into the country illegally from Mozambique and Malawi.
Cocaine, heroin and other hard drugs are usually smuggled from Nigeria, South Africa, Latin America and Afghanistan.
It is highly disturbing that some dangerous substances are also finding their way onto street corners, workplaces, homes, schools, marketplaces and leisure centres.
This has led to a sharp increase in anti-social behaviour as people dabble in drugs, either as peddlers or consumers.
This subsequently leads to deviance and delinquency.
This calls for proactive action to nip the problem in the bud.
Health experts have put it on record that drug abuse has devastating side effects, both immediate and long-term.
Substance abuse destroys health and humanity.
Most people who are hooked onto dangerous substances may not realise it and end up in denial.
They suffer from anxiety, euphoria, emotional impairment, paranoia, restlessness, hallucinations and delusions.
They also exhibit bouts of aggression and have violence tendencies as well as a propensity for hostility.
Since a stitch in time saves nine, they have to be rescued from such self-destructive impulses before degenerating into addiction.
Counselling, rehabilitation and psychotherapy becomes indispensable for addicts.
Unsurprisingly, calls for a multi-sectoral approach to tackle the scourge – from families, community leaders, schools, churches to police, development partners and Government – continue growing.
This is a shared concern and a collective responsibility.
Recently, police in Manicaland reiterated their commitment to fighting the peddling and illegal usage of drugs.
To that end, Officer Commanding Manicaland Province, Commissioner Priscilla Makotose said they are taking the fight against substance abuse to communities by descending heavily on drug havens to net in cartels and bring the culprits to book.
This has to happen as soon as yesterday because drug abuse is destroying society’s moral fabric.
We have to ensure that our future leaders are a drug-free generation.
We need to heal society of this scourge that has become a deep-seated menace whose several social ills are afflicting humanity.
By coming clean on drug and substance abuse, young people can get help and mend their deviant ways.
This will ultimately lead to their active participation in contributing to the meaningful development of their communities as the country moves towards the attainment of Vision 2030.
