Our achievements as a nation are slowly being soiled by the widespread drug and alcohol abuse.
We are living in a country where it is nothing out of the ordinary for secondary school and University students to access hard drugs.
Teenagers smoke marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy flagrantly at public schools, in the streets and even in the comfort of their homesteads.
Gone are the days when Botswana was a conduit of drugs.
We are now consumers, a growing market, and from the look of things a very profitable centre.
Nowadays children take drugs without much admonishment from parents.
It is like we have given up.
It is also common knowledge that private schools where the children of the rich study lead in drug abuse, especially hardcore drugs, such as cocaine and mandrax.
It is public knowledge that the main cities of Francistown and Gaborone are infested with drug dealers of repute who are even known to law enforcement agencies.
Sadly, some of these law enforcement personnel are well known customers and lead the delinquency in abusing such drugs as marijuana, cocaine and other hard substances that seem to have found their way into Botswana.
Truth be told, Botswana has never been a hub for drugs and other illicit substances. With regards to alcohol, the series of levies imposed by government to curb abuse seem to have exacerbated the problem.
Not even the embargo on trading hours for liquor operators has been of assistance.
The drinking has spiralled to a point where grown men and women cannot afford to cloth nor feed their families because all their earnings are spent on alcohol.
People spend more time in bars and depots than with their families. More energy is expended on drinking sprees than in work. A sorry sight indeed.
All this clearly demonstrates that our efforts to curb alcohol abuse has not only fallen short but has worsened the situation.
The interventions were, in our view, a non starter. There is an urgent need to change our strategy without necessarily clamping on civil liberties.
We do not have adequate facilities to accommodate and rehabilitate drug addicts and alcohol abusers. Perhaps it is time we start thinking along those lines.
Most, if not all, non-governmental organizations that had embarked on fighting drug and alcohol abuse have collapsed, either due to lack of funds or lack of human resource.
Government needs to intensify efforts to curb drug and alcohol abuse. Money from the alcohol levy is now being used for other things other than helping victims of alcohol abuse.
It is time to go back to the drawing board and get our priorities right.
In our view, education should be the starting point. Our curriculum at primary school and secondary school does not adequately expose learners to the dreaded effects of drug and substance abuse. It is about time schools introduced subjects whose objectives is to fight drug and alcohol abuse.
Without doubt, there is an abundance of literature on this field and, therefore, for the Ministry of Education and skills Development, it could be another opportunity to equip learners.
We strongly believe that if can at if students can at an early age comprehend and consciously appreciate the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse, it go a long way in restraining many of them from taking drugs and alcohol.
As already stated earlier, most NGOs that used to advocate for a drug free society have collapsed. These organizations should be revived and capacitated. If we honestly want to win the war against drug and substance abuse, then NGOs cannot be left out.
Law enforcement agencies alone cannot win the war against drug and substance abuse. As such, as a people, we need to also take the lead by reporting well-known drug peddlers and other suspicious activities.
The effects of drug and alcohol abuse on society cannot be overemphasized. Firstly, these substances are a threat to life. Many young lives have been lost to such things like overdose.
Socially, drug and alcohol abuse has cost many a future and many families have collapsed. In other instances, drug and alcohol abuse has led to exposure to the HIV/AIDS virus. Need we mention more?
