Government told to Amend Dangerous Drugs Act

The Zimbabwe Civil Liberties and Drug Network (ZCLDN) has appealed to the incoming ninth parliament to amend the Dangerous Drugs Act to ensure that addicts are not criminalised. Speaking to NewsDay, ZCLDN founder and director Wilson Box said,

We propose that a drug addict must be referred to a medical institution, but if they are repeat offenders, they must be taken for rehabilitation, because if they are just thrown in jail for having a stub of marijuana, you find that it will be difficult to contain diseases like HIV, tuberculosis and hepatitis B in prisons that are already overcrowded.

Currently, the Dangerous Drug Act and the Criminal Code have provisions that criminalise drug addicts, but we are saying they must be referred to health institutions so that they enjoy their rights to health.