Cabinet has approved the proposed structures for the establishment of the National Committee on the Elimination of Drug and Substance Abuse in Zimbabwe.
The Committee is expected to devise systematic and sustainable responses that will assist in curbing drug and substance abuse in the country.
Speaking after a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday evening, the Minister of Information Publicity and Broadcasting Services Monica Mutsvangwa said:
Following Cabinet’s decision at its last Meeting to establish an institutional framework to decisively deal with the menace, Cabinet has decided to set up a National Committee on the Elimination of Drug and Substance Abuse.
The Committee will be empowered to come up with systematic and sustainable responses that will assist in ensuring that society is free of drug and substance abuse.
Mutsvangwa added that most of the illicit drugs being consumed in Zimbabwe are imported. She said:
Most of the dangerous drugs and substances being abused are imported, with the traffickers acting in cahoots with local drug lords and an array of criminal elements in our society.
Drug and substance abuse is a growing problem in Zimbabwe, particularly among low-income and homeless youths.
Commonly used substances in Zimbabwe include glue, bronclee, mangemba, cane sprit, marijuana, codeine and methamphetamine (crystal meth).
Studies show that some young people start to abuse alcohol, drugs and other substances at the age of 12 years.
In case you have a son, daughter, friend, or relative who has a problem with drug abuse, the following public psychiatric institutions offer help in fighting drug addiction:
1. Sally Mugabe Psychiatric Unit (Harare)
2. Parirenyatwa Annex Psychiatric Unit (Harare)
3. Ingutsheni Psychiatric Hospital (Bulawayo)
4. Ngomahuru Hospital and Half-way House (Masvingo)
The following institutions also offer counselling and rehabilitation services for patients battling drug addiction:
1. Highlands Halfway Home +2638644210999
2. Ruwa Rehabilitation Centre +263273790238
3. Serenity Mind Centre +263716825245
4. Tirivanhu Rehabilitation +263773593014
5. Beatrice Rehabilitation Harare
6. Tariro Rehabilitation Centre, Harare
More: Pindula News