Drug and substance misuse: the emerging threat to the socio-moral fabric in Mbare suburb, Zimbabwe

Purpose This study aims to look into trends, precipitating factors and response to drug and substance misuse in Mbare suburb. This study comes against a background of an upsurge in drug and substance misuse in Harare’s oldest suburb. This study also recommends appropriate measures for dealing with the scourge. Design/methodology/approach A mixed-methods research design was adopted to gather data from a total of 140 respondents (including 12 interview participants) who were selected using stratified random sampling and purposive sampling techniques. Data were collected using the questionnaire and in-depth interviews. Quantitative data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences, whereas qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings Abuse of prescription drugs, followed by abuse of marijuana and harmful liquids, was cited as the dominant forms of drug and substance abuse. Family risk factors, in the form of early initiation and family history, as well as socio-economic factors such as unemployment, were pointed out as the major reasons for the increase in drug and substance abuse in Mbare suburb. Multi-stakeholder awareness campaigns, arrest and prosecution and police patrols were considered to be the most effective measures against drug and substance misuse. Originality/value Given the dearth of literature on the magnitude of the drug and substance misuse in Zimbabwe, with the available statistics coming from modest research endeavours and newspaper stories that do not fully capture the scope and nature of the problems at hand, this study provides context-specific information on a problem that has negatively impacted the socio-moral fabric.