FROM time immemorial illicit drugs ranging from Cocaine that normally comes in a powder form to Heroin and Marijuana being consumed by some people in the public.
The effects on their bodies and brains later on become regrettable. Many such people h av e suffered painful health consequences that are long-lasting and permanent, despite some even persist after one stops taking the substances.
In the society there are a few ways an addict can tak e such drugs, including injection, inh alation and ingestion and th e effects of the drug on th e body can depend on how th e drug is delivered.
For example, the injection of drugs directly into th e bloodstream has an immediate impact, wh ile ingestion has a delayed effect.
But at the end of the day, all misused drugs affect th e brain and cause large amounts of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that helps regulate our emotions, motivation and feelings of pleasure, to flood the brain and produce a “high .
” Eventually, the drugs can ch ange h ow th e brain work s and interfere with th e person’s ability to make choices, lead to intense cravings and compulsive drug use.
Over time, th is beh av ior can turn into a substance dependency or drug addiction and render th e consumer a ‘slave,’ hence with the above back ground, th e gov ernment; being th e custodian of its citizens has all th e rights to fight it tooth and nail.
It is good news to Tanzanians th at th e Fifth Phase government h as curbed it by 9 5 percent especially th eir importation into th e country, as Parliament was told in a sitting.
Making th e rev elation th e Minister of State in th e Prime Minister’s Office (Policy, Parliamentary Affairs, Youth , Employment and the Disabled), Jenister Mhagama, said after th e government succeeding to seal looph oles for drug traffickers. The authority is now focusing on treating those who had been affected.
According to the minister, the government had also established ed a major addiction treatment centre in Hega, Dodoma to help paddlers who are committed to quitting the business.
She added that the government had issued a directive to the managements of all referral hospitals countrywide to ensure that they have special windows for giving meth adone to drug addicts.
“ After treating them, we want the reformed persons to engage in economic activities so that they may not relapse to drug abuse… we have a programme in the Prime Minister’s Office, which seek s to provide skills to various people, including th ose wh o h av e decided to quit drugs,’’ said Ms Mhagama.
This means that the government of the people, for the people and by the people is making great achievement in making the society (nationals) realise that such drugs are not used in their midst, but instead also removed from peddlers in their syndicate.
