The Insight of Young People toward Drugs and Chemical Abuse in Zimbabwe

The abuse of drugs and chemicals among the young people is a silent pandemic which needs collective intervention. The young people are the pillar of development in the world over. The behavior of abusing drugs is seen as a fashionby the young people and effects has paralyzed the developmental milestones within communities. The aim of this research was to explore the insights of drugs and chemical abuse among the youth in Zimbabwe. The word chemicals has been used interchangeably with the word substance in this study. The study is a qualitative research which is backed with the descriptive research design. Data was collected from the young people from the age of 12 to 36 years through a purposive snow balling and convenience sample since taking of some drugs is a secrete act. Thematic content analysis was used to analyze data gathered from the participants who resides in Kadoma area. The study found that there are different factors which had forced the young to participate in the uptake of drugs which are poverty, peer pressure, lack parental guidance, experimentation, genetic dispossession and depression. The study also found that young people have moved from predominately abusing marijuana alone and jump to use complex substances such as bronclee ngoma , powder extracted from energy saver bulbs, mutoriro, mangemba, ital, tablets white, blue and pink pill , cocaine and mangemba. The research predicts that young people can use drugs to revolt against their elders due to the influence of drugs. It was recommended to put in place strict sanction to anyone found in possession with drugs. Brenda Palesa Makumbe | Prince Dzingirayi "The Insight of Young People toward Drugs and Chemical Abuse in Zimbabwe" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-6 | Issue-3 , April 2022, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd49908.pdf Paper URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/humanities-and-the-arts/social-science/49908/the-insight-of-young-people-toward-drugs-and-chemical-abuse-in-zimbabwe/brenda-palesa-makumbe