10 January 2022
Vimbayi Mahachi
Bulawayo- A man from Entumbane Suburb has been arrested by the police after being found in possession of narcotics.
A Zimbabwe Republic Police statement revealed that, acting on a tip off the CID of on Friday they visited the residence of the young man and enquired about dangerous drugs possession. Michael Masuku was found with illicit drugs.
“…Detectives from CID Drugs and Narcotics acted on a tip off and arrested Michael Masuku (24) at a house in Entumbane for unlawful possession of dangerous drugs.”
Masuku was found in possession of approximately 0.005 kgs of cocaine with a street value of ZWL$3500.
According research on cocaine from the National Institute on Drug Abuse,
“Cocaine’s effects appear almost immediately after a single dose and disappear within a few minutes to an hour. Small amounts of cocaine usually make the user feel euphoric, energetic, talkative, mentally alert, and hypersensitive to sight, sound, and touch. The drug can also temporarily decrease the need for food and sleep. Some users find that cocaine helps them perform simple physical and intellectual tasks more quickly, although others experience the opposite effect.”
It is evident that drug and substance abuse has become a serious public health problem globally. Substance and drug abuse is wreaking havoc in the City of Bulawayo and many youths are destroying their future knowingly or unknowingly.
The ubiquity of substance abuse among youth is alarming.
Societies and families are also negatively affected by the usage of such.
In Zimbabwe substances which are most commonly used include alcohol, cannabis, heroin, glue and cough mixtures such as Histalix and Bron Cleer.
However, mbanje (cannabis) remains the most popular illicit drug because it is grown locally or smuggled in from neighbouring countries like Malawi and Mozambique.
Because of failure to be gainfully employed most youths while up their time involved in substance and drug abuse.
Seemingly engaging in drug use has become a hobby or a past time activity for most youths.
Last year, in a Cabinet Briefing, the government expressed alarm on the abuse of drugs by Zimbabwe youths. Shockingly, there is not road map or a spirited effort to address this pandemic that is slowly eroding the future of our youths.
Youths clubs that used to be a way to deter these young boys and girls are a thing of the past. Before, such institutions used to absorb many young people and they were removed from the streets thereby keeping them occupied.
Another worrisome pointer is the fact that our border are porous thus enabling smugglers to bring in the illicit drugs.
To date, the government has not expressed how it intends to deal with substance and drug abuse by the youths.