In addition to these, there has been a rise in the abuse of mental health pills such as Chlorpromazine or ‘Maragado’ (street name) whose effect can last upto 12 hours. The second kind of prescription drug abuse is that of anti-pain medication such as Morphine and Pethadine. It also affects your ability to pass stool properly,” explained Chikukwa.
Another bad thing is that Bronco makes you lose your appetite but gives you a desire to eat sweet things like lollipops.
The escapist keys full#
For a full 100ml bottle you can pay about US$4 or US$3 depending on the place you go to, then half a bottle is about US$2.50 and a quarter of a bottle is US$1.50,” said Charles* Mushonga, a Polytechnic student who is a user of the syrup.įor you to get really drunk you have to drink the whole bottle, and one has to make sure that it doesn’t come into contact with the teeth because it makes them rot easily and fast. “It’s easy to get ‘Bronco’, you can get it from a pharmacy or even in the hood as most of the dealers bring it in from South Africa. Bronco is used as a relaxation drug and is heavily peddled in areas such as Makokoba in Bulawayo and Chitungwiza, a town in the Harare Provincial area. The first kind is that of cough syrups with Broncleer, ‘Bronco’/ ‘Ngoma’ being the most abused. There is a growing concern over the prevalence of prescription drug abuse in Zimbabwe.
The escapist keys plus#
Whenever I smoke a joint I spend my day happy, plus I am not afraid to do anything, it gives me the courage to do many things that I usually can’t do when I am sober,” added Chikukwa. “Large quantities like a paper bag go for US$50, but you can get small packets of Mbanje (Cannabis) which can cost as little as 5 Rands or US$0.50,” said Tawanda* Chikukwa, a regular buyer. In addition to the peer pressure, the lifestyle portrayed by some Zim Dancehall icons which glorifies the use of intoxicating drugs and substances is negatively influencing youth perceptions of drug abuse as being the ‘in thing’ ( Zim Dancehall is a popular Zimbabwean music genre with roots in the Jamaican tradition of Reggae and Ragga genres).Īn investigation by FairPlanet reveals that Cannabis (Marijuana/local name ‘Mbanje’/ ‘Dagga’) is the most commonly used cheap drug as it is grown locally or sometimes easily smuggled into the country from neighbouring Mozambique, Malawi and South Africa. While young people are expected to wake up and go to school or work, these youths now including girls, abuse drugs in order to get into their escapist fantasies.Īpart from the inability to secure jobs, the popularity of ‘cheap’ drugs has been spurred on by the immense peer pressure that makes youths want to belong to the ‘cool’ crowd. This lack of jobs and other positive activities to partake in for self-development, especially for young people, has led to the indulgence in drugs as a way of whiling up time and forgetting the frustrations of a life of poverty. Several factors have been blamed for the scourge of drug abuse and chief among them is the high unemployment rate- stemming from the economic slouch in the country. Hard drugs such as Cannabis (‘Marijuana’/ ‘Dagga’) and ‘small time’ drugs which include cough mixtures like Broncleer, popularly known as ‘Bronco’ and Histalix syrup, Psychiatric pills and caffeinated energy drinks are doing the rounds on the streets and in neighbourhood hotpots. In an effort to get high there has been a countrywide increase in the experimental abuse of various drugs and substances. It really makes my day and I feel good after smoking,” explained Jimalo. “I can’t leave without smoking one or two in the morning (Dagga). Most of these youths are already drug addicts and it is now difficult for them pull-out. James Nyika, also known as ‘Jimalo’ in the local Budiriro suburb of Harare revealed that drug abuse had become part and parcel of their ghetto life and culture. This has become part of what they call ‘ghetto style’ and those who take in the highly intoxicating drugs are seen by their peers as ‘cool’. Early each morning, a group of youths gather at street corners across the high density suburbs in Zimbabwe’s Harare, Bulawayo and other small towns to share and abuse drugs.