By Gift Msipa | Radio France Int
“The current situation is that we have 57 percent of all mental health institutions admissions being attributed to drug use,” says Wilson Box, head of theZimbabwe Civil Liberties and Drug Network– an organisation working in eight of the country’s 10 provinces to raise awareness about the dangers of drug abuse.
“In our communities you find that for every four houses, in one house there is drug peddling. Among these we also have new sedative substances in the form of illicit brews that are very potent and nobody really knows the content of these illicit brews.”
Box adds that the problem shows no sign of slowing down.
Many young people in the country say they turn to drugs because of personal difficulties, including unemployment and poverty.
Tawanda Murepa, who leads theYoung People Mental Health TrustinHarare, says that stigma remains a major issue, as it prevents young people from speaking openly about their problems and seeking help.
He believes the best approach is to show them the dangers of drug use, but with care and understanding
“Turning away once you have started will differ from person to person depending on a number of factors, such as the resilience of the person as based on their mindset, their genetics, the period of usage of the drug,” he said.
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“The amount and quality and quantity of drug as well as the damage caused and so on, all determine the level of dependency. So we say it is not good to start on drugs at all.
We should just talk about how people should not start on drugs whatever problems they have in life.”
Tawanda also says that rehabilitation should be the final option for treatment. Once a person reaches that stage, the process can go either way – they may succeed or suffer a relapse.
However, there are success stories.
Givas Chirinda is 26. He started using drugs in 2011 but has not used any substances for the past three years.
Today, he helps other young people in Harare understand the risks ofdrug abuse. He encourages those already involved to stop, because, as he says, he knows it is possible.
“You do not need to use threats or frightening language,” he said. “Approach those who are using drugs by acknowledging the problem.
If one used 10 stars [a drug measure] for example, talk to them and say OK, why not try and reduce to nine and lets see what happens and go down to. say, six and see what happens…”
He believes the root cause behind drug use must also be addressed to prevent relapse.
Source: Newzimbabwe
