Harare’s teens are being pulled into mutoriro and codeine—this piece traces the pressures driving the surge, the school cases that shocked Zimbabwe, and the practical paths to prevention and recovery.
By Mufaro Namusi
Harare, Zimbabwe — Harare is facing a youth drug crisis we can no longer ignore.
Our future leaders are being pulled into a wave of substance abuse that is wrecking health, derailing school careers and tearing families apart.
I grew up believing these streets were beautiful.
Today, some corners reek of alcohol, smoke and despair. Children as young as 15 are experimenting with drugs. Some run away from home, not just out of rebellion, but to escape school pressure and the weight of life’s struggles.
Officials say police have already arrested more than 2,300 people nationwide for drug offences in 2024 as raids intensify, underscoring how widespread the problem has become. Voice of America
One emblematic case made national headlines in 2023: eight learners from Dominican Convent High School in Harare were expelled after a school trip when they were found with illicit substances.
That incident, reported across Zimbabwean media, showed that drug use is not confined to any one neighborhood or income group—it is a national problem that cuts across schools. ZimLive+1
What are young people taking? Beyond cannabis, common substances include codeine-laced cough syrups such as BronCleer and Adco-Salterpyn—both not registered for sale in Zimbabwe—and the methamphetamine known on the street as mutoriro.
The medicines regulator has run joint operations with police to confiscate illegal cough syrups, warning about their danger and prevalence.
Researchers and clinicians describe fast-shifting trends: prescription pills, home-mixed intoxicants, and other hazardous concoctions circulating alongside marijuana and meth. They link rising use to peer pressure, stress, poverty, porous borders and easy access.
In recent syntheses, some estimates suggest that more than half of Zimbabwe’s youth have been exposed to drug use, though exact national prevalence varies by study and method.
What’s consistent is the warning: the situation is at crisis levels.
The effects on teenagers are brutal: anxiety, depression, violence at home, risky sex, pregnancy complications, and steep drops in school performance. Crystal-meth use in particular has been tied to acute mental-health crises among youths in Harare.
Teachers, pastors and parents see the spiral: missed classes, suspensions, expulsions and, in extreme cases, contact with the criminal justice system.
The government has acknowledged the emergency.
In April 2024, the Cabinet approved the Multisectoral Drug and Substance Abuse Plan (2024–2030) to coordinate prevention, treatment, policing and community rehabilitation. The plan calls for a “whole-of-government and society” approach, pairing enforcement with care so young people can actually recover—not just get punished.
Hope still lives in the same places where despair has grown. Community groups and hotlines offer help, including Youth Advocates Zimbabwe’s toll-free 393 helpline for adolescents who need confidential support.
Schools are expanding counselling, churches are hosting prevention talks, and police—backed by regulators—are shutting down illegal drug bases and confiscating unregistered syrups.
None of this is enough alone, but together, it starts to bend the curve.
I still imagine a different picture: if the energy lost to drugs flowed into school, innovation or community building, our economy would feel it.
Zimbabwe needs visionary leaders, and they must come from today’s youth.
With support, guidance and rehabilitation, this battle can be won. Seeking help is not weakness—it is a first step back to life.
