It has become common place to see both young and old, men and women and in extreme cases children passed out on sidewalks in the Central Business District under the influence of either illicit brew or hard drugs. The situation has escalated to alarming heights. I marvel at the how casually we walk past children foaming at the mouth from effects of the drugs and just go on with our day as if all is well. The level of complacency is bone-chilling and we are all guilty of ignorance.

As we pass by those heavily intoxicated individuals on the street let us remember, there lies our future rolling in their vomit and urine, there lies our hope for a better future in the dust of the ghettos and filthy trenches. There lies a family’s hope and future leader. We might look at it now and say that is not our lot not knowing what life has in store for us. We have given up as a country, we have literally given up on ourselves. Yes, it may not be your lot today but it will be tomorrow. Life is complicated, it will lead that precious son or daughter down that dark path . We live in an ever changing world, as Jimmy Dludlu put it , peacocks today feather dusters tomorrow...

In recent weeks, social media was buzzing when the daughter of prominent businessman and former Norton Member of Parliament Themba Mliswa, Chanetsa Mliswa (20) was arrested on possession of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) known on the street as ecstasy. Details around the arrest indicate that on 22 February Mliswa and her co-accused where at home when detectives from CID Drugs, raided the apartment in Avonlea when a satchet weighing 1.30 g (valued at $13 USD) was discovered under a sofa. Reacting to the news of his daughter’s arrest Themba Mliswa was as supportive as any father would be in this situation and allowed the law to run its course, vowing to help his daughter get the help she needs.

This generation is taking strain from mental issues and drugs are the way out for most, completely disregarding the possibility of getting hooked. That hour long high can be the gate to your destruction. Zimbabwe has no functional rehabilitation center for substance abuse, the few organizations that are committed to assisting in this regard are not adequately supported to carry half the burden that the country is facing right now. Drugs have become a coping mechanism for everyone and its spreading like a veld fire and we are quenching the fire with a leaking bucket of no funds, no rehabilitation facilities and not enough human capital to fight against it. It is only a matter of time until the real effects of drug abuse are realized and as each day passes us by we are losing one more life to the pandemic.