Global problem of illicit drugs The abuse of drugs like marijuana among youths is alarming
The abuse of drugs like marijuana among youths is alarming

The abuse of drugs like marijuana among youths is alarming

Sekai Nzenza on Wednesday
Last Friday night, I was in Richmond, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. It was 7:15pm with my friend Alison walking along Lennox Street, going to dinner.

At the corner of Lennox Street and Victoria Street, we saw a group of people of various nationalities. Among them were Vietnamese, Chinese, Aboriginal, one African man, possibly of Sudanese origin, and the rest were all European looking.

They were talking to each other incoherently and some were quite unstable on their feet. Looking at them, I could see that Australia has become so international. Many years ago, when I was a student here, Victoria Street was a place for mostly Greeks. But a lot has changed. It is now an area popular with Asian restaurants and shops.

We have chosen one Vietnamese restaurant called Thanh Ha where we will meet friends from our Melbourne University days. We often have a reunion like this, when there is a chance to be in the same town. “This area has become the drug centre of Melbourne. People die from overdose and the police can only do so much,” said Alison referring to the group of various nationalities suspiciously standing, talking and shouting to each other.

We sat down with the others for dinner and the conversation was all about increasing illicit drug usage in Australia and around the world. We all agreed that drugs, like opium used to be common in ancient times, but their usage was well.

I recalled that, back in the village, my Sekuru Dickson used to smoke tobacco from a pipe or chikwepa while my grandmother, Mbuya VaMandirowesa and other women, took snuff. At that time, long before Independence, we had an uncle called Babamunini Petros.

He worked on the white man’s farm and smuggled some of the tobacco from the barns. During harvest time, Babamunini Petros disappeared to the farms for casual labour. He returned when the harvest season was over, carrying a bagful of stolen cured tobacco leaf.

He sold most of it to the neighbours, but he always reserved some pouches of tobacco for Mbuya VaMandirowesa and Sekuru Dickson. The strands of tobacco were often intact or clumped together.

Mbuya was the expert snuff maker. First she rolled the tobacco between her fingers to check out the quality. Then she left it to dry in the sun. Once fully dry, she used a stone grinder that was used specifically for her tobacco. We knew that there was the stone grinder for millet and another for peanut butter.

The small stone grinder, guyo ne huyo, was for Mbuya’s snuff. She would grind the tobacco slowly until it was a fine black powder with a strong smell. Then she placed her snuff in a small box called nyere, made from the end of a goat’s horn.

When Mbuya was relaxed, she sat alone or with other women to take snuff and relax. She pinched the snuff between her thumb and index finger then pushed it up her nostrils. If the snuff was good, Mbuya did not sneeze. Instead, she sniffed more and more throughout the day. Mbuya and the others took snuff and homemade beer. They were merry. They played the drum, sang and danced. But young people, especially the youth, were not allowed to drink large quantities of beer or smoke tobacco or marijuana.

Sometimes Mbuya said we could take the snuff because it helped clear out all the snort and undesirable particles in our noses. After one or two sniffs, the nose burned a little and became numb. We would sneeze so much and laugh about it. Then we had a competition on how many times one could sneeze out loud. Sniffing snuff was a common way to play, even if our noses were not blocked. We liked the feeling of momentary dizziness.

Later on, I learnt that sniffing snuff was actually a way of getting a nicotine rush. Our dancing around and laughter was a form of “being high.” Tobacco was not the only drug in the village. Babamunini Petros’ garden was always full of marijuana, weed or mbanje. Due to excessive marijuana smoking, Babamuni was always excited and he spoke loudly, vakavhengedzera.

I often look back at Babamunini’s behaviour and say he was indeed taking drugs. Today, you often hear people saying the youth grow mbanje in hidden places in their gardens or along Save River. They grow mbanje illegally for recreation and relaxation and not for commercial purposes. But I suspect the youth would illegally sell this mbanje if there was a market for it.

Marijuana, cannabis or mbanje is a dried leaf, flower, stem or seed from the hemp plant. According to scientific studies, the marijuana plant contains mind-altering chemical delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and other compounds. After smoking marijuana, a person can experience a feeling of being on high and also disorientation, lack of physical co-ordination.

Excessive use can cause depression, sleepiness, panic attacks or anxiety. Times have changed since Mbuya VaMandirowesa took snuff and Babamunini Petros grew marijuana. In town, marijuana is not the only illicit drug used by the people, especially the youth.

Some young people use BronCleer, a cough syrup so they could “get high”. This cough mixture manufactured by Adcock Ingram in South Africa and it had alcohol which made the young people experience a feeling of excitement.

The price of the cough syrup varies from $3 to $5 per bottle in Harare. In South Africa, one bottle costs about R15. This medicine is meant to relieve symptoms caused by the common cold or flu.

BronCleer contains codeine, an effective pain killer similar to the prescribed drug called morphine. The negative effects of an overdose of codeine phosphate include difficulty in breathing, restlessness, vomiting, low blood pressure and death. Due to these side effects, Adcock makes the cough mixture with less alcohol. The cough syrup’s new formula now contains only 0,5 percent alcohol.

BronCleer, popularly known as Bronco, was banned in Zimbabwe, but it gets smuggled into the country through various borders. In Zimbabwe, the issue of drug and alcohol abuse among the youth is increasing. Apart from BronCleer and cannabis, people use substances called Maragadu, Musombodhiya, Tegu-Tegu and Zed.

As a result, Zimbabwe is also beginning to experience accidents, suicides, murders and other serious mental problems. Recently, a video showing a very drunk policeman circulated around on WhatsApp. I sent it to a policeman colleague who was very embarrassed by the video of this man falling and bruising himself in uniform.

My colleague said the policeman had been taking the illegal “Musombodhiya”. And yet, in comparison to other countries, Zimbabwe does not have the worst statistics of drug usage. In America, a number of well-known celebrities have died from drug addiction. Prince, the African American musician died at 57. Other celebrities who died from drug-related illnesses include Michael Jackson at age 50.

Whitney Houston at age 48, Heath Ledger at 28, Philip Seymour Hoffman at 46, Amy Winehouse at age 27, Nicole Smith aged 39, Chris Farley aged 33, River Phoenix aged 23 and many more celebrities. Popularity and money do not always lead to happiness. Due to depression, celebrities and others use drugs to feel happier. It is tragic for such incredible and talented superstars to meet death so young in life due to the use of drugs.

Many of these deaths may be caused by misuse of illegal substances. Such drugs are not always illicit and an overdose is usually not intentional. Accidents do happen. The best solution is to avoid taking drugs. After a good Vietnamese dinner, my colleagues and I walked past more drug affected people who looked dazed.

One man walked towards us like a zombie, muttering to himself. A young blonde girl wearing shorts and revealing tattoos all over her legs begged for a few coins from us. Then we noticed a lamp post opposite St Mathias Anglican Church. The post was covered with flowers and messages of condolences.

One message was from a guy writing to a woman called Sophie Lee who must have died at the lamp post recently. He wrote that she was the mother of his child and he will remember and miss her forever. “She is likely to have died from a drug overdose. Paramedics came too late,” said Alison. “Western societies are not coping with the problem of drugs. At least, in your village, drugs are controlled.”

I agreed somewhat, though I know that the use of illicit drugs in Zimbabwe is becoming a serious problem. We have moved a long way from taking snuff. Modern drugs are real and they can ruin lives.

  •  Dr Sekai Nzenza is a writer and cultural critic.

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