Harare, Zimbabwe – In Kuwadzana, a high-density residential suburb in the Zimbabwean capital Harare, the day begins as early as 5 am for many of the working class, from vegetable sellers to Thomas Gundawo (last name changed on request), a 19-year-old bus conductor.
For loading a 7-seater vehicle after soliciting passengers at the top of his voice at the bus stop, he gets ZWL$100 (US$0.45). By 8 am, he would have pocketed only about US$3, insufficient to buy food and either broncleer – a street drug mixture of cough syrup with alcohol and codeine – or dagga (marijuana).
So, he and his friends have resorted to a far cheaper alternative – adding water to the white residue found in used diapers and boiling it.
“After boiling, it forms a greyish substance and we drink the mixture,” Gundawo told Al Jazeera. “It’s semi-solid, it smells and tastes bad but we just drink. It helps us to get high [at] less cost.
“I need a little drink in the morning to have energy and confidence as I attract passengers,” said the teenager who has been abusing drugs since his third year in high school – six years ago.
Since October 2018, the Zimbabwean economy has been on a free-fall characterised by high inflation and low investor confidence, leading to hyperinflation and high levels of unemployment as the local currency plummeted in value.
Data is not readily available in Zimbabwe but sources from the country’s ministry of higher and tertiary education told Al Jazeera that more than 25,000 students graduate annually from the country’s universities and other institutions of higher learning.
But unemployment is also prevalent and the pool of the jobless swells every year.
"As a lecturer, I have seen students coming to lectures high and some of them admit that they are abusing it because of low morale,” she said. “The state is the first parent and it must look into it so that people’s needs are catered for.”
Amon Chinya, another youth, said depression led to him inhaling sodium polyacrylate with his friends in his back yard and open spaces in the neighbourhood.
“Because we are unemployed, and facing a lot of challenges, we sometimes drink to forget problems but alcohol cannot take us high,” the 25-year-old told Al Jazeera. “Therefore, we have opted for street drugs. But they are also getting expensive [so] we have resorted to cheap diapers.”

'Juice of Pampers’

Several drug users told Al Jazeera that sodium polyacrylate or waterlock is found in new and used diapers, as well as stain removers, bleach products and some detergents. It is the absorbent for blood on sanitary pads and urine on diapers and dissolves once boiled.

In street lingo, it is also known as “muto we ma Pampers” meaning “juice of Pampers” in the Shona language and referencing Pampers, a popular brand. Most youths prefer used diapers as, having been discarded, they are cheaper to find or procure.

“With the filthiness of most of the illegal solid waste dumping sites, we don’t always scavenge for the used ones,” said Gundawo. “Sometimes we have a local vendor who supplies us at the base. We don’t want to be seen buying diapers, it raises eyebrows.”

Mertha Mothema Nyamande, a Harare-based psychotherapist told news men that her findings concluded that “it is not particularly the substance in the diaper alone, but the gas released when the urine becomes mixed with atmospheric pressures.

“The mix-up creates the effect sought by drug addicts …the impact of the substance is numbing and more of a psychedelic [feel], and gives an out-of-body experience,” she added. “The cases are isolated, but it is mainly that people are not very open about this method. We see a lot of these guys on the streets. In the streets, it’s very common.

“Additionally, the addiction goes way beyond the psychoactive substances, into activities like gambling and work, which are equally damaging in terms of impact on relationships and health issues,” she said.

“The mix-up creates the effect sought by drug addicts …the impact of the substance is numbing and more of a psychedelic [feel], and gives an out-of-body experience,” she added. “The cases are isolated, but it is mainly that people are not very open about this method. We see a lot of these guys on the streets. In the streets, it’s very common.

“Additionally, the addiction goes way beyond the psychoactive substances, into activities like gambling and work, which are equally damaging in terms of impact on relationships and health issues,” she said.

https://zapiforum.com/question/zimbabwean-youths-find-cheap-highs-in-used-diapers-sanitary-pads/

Damn....men must high
E no matter how the highness take come.
Abeg make i light my blunt...make me self follow high my loud.

Thinkfree:
Harare, Zimbabwe – In Kuwadzana, a high-density residential suburb in the Zimbabwean capital Harare, the day begins as early as 5 am for many of the working class, from vegetable sellers to Thomas Gundawo (last name changed on request), a 19-year-old bus conductor.
For loading a 7-seater vehicle after soliciting passengers at the top of his voice at the bus stop, he gets ZWL$100 (US$0.45). By 8 am, he would have pocketed only about US$3, insufficient to buy food and either broncleer – a street drug mixture of cough syrup with alcohol and codeine – or dagga (marijuana).
So, he and his friends have resorted to a far cheaper alternative – adding water to the white residue found in used diapers and boiling it.
“After boiling, it forms a greyish substance and we drink the mixture,” Gundawo told Al Jazeera. “It’s semi-solid, it smells and tastes bad but we just drink. It helps us to get high [at] less cost.
“I need a little drink in the morning to have energy and confidence as I attract passengers,” said the teenager who has been abusing drugs since his third year in high school – six years ago.
Since October 2018, the Zimbabwean economy has been on a free-fall characterised by high inflation and low investor confidence, leading to hyperinflation and high levels of unemployment as the local currency plummeted in value.
Data is not readily available in Zimbabwe but sources from the country’s ministry of higher and tertiary education told Al Jazeera that more than 25,000 students graduate annually from the country’s universities and other institutions of higher learning.
But unemployment is also prevalent and the pool of the jobless swells every year.
"As a lecturer, I have seen students coming to lectures high and some of them admit that they are abusing it because of low morale,” she said. “The state is the first parent and it must look into it so that people’s needs are catered for.”
Amon Chinya, another youth, said depression led to him inhaling sodium polyacrylate with his friends in his back yard and open spaces in the neighbourhood.
“Because we are unemployed, and facing a lot of challenges, we sometimes drink to forget problems but alcohol cannot take us high,” the 25-year-old told Al Jazeera. “Therefore, we have opted for street drugs. But they are also getting expensive [so] we have resorted to cheap diapers.”

'Juice of Pampers’

Several drug users told Al Jazeera that sodium polyacrylate or waterlock is found in new and used diapers, as well as stain removers, bleach products and some detergents. It is the absorbent for blood on sanitary pads and urine on diapers and dissolves once boiled.

In street lingo, it is also known as “muto we ma Pampers” meaning “juice of Pampers” in the Shona language and referencing Pampers, a popular brand. Most youths prefer used diapers as, having been discarded, they are cheaper to find or procure.

“With the filthiness of most of the illegal solid waste dumping sites, we don’t always scavenge for the used ones,” said Gundawo. “Sometimes we have a local vendor who supplies us at the base. We don’t want to be seen buying diapers, it raises eyebrows.”

Mertha Mothema Nyamande, a Harare-based psychotherapist told news men that her findings concluded that “it is not particularly the substance in the diaper alone, but the gas released when the urine becomes mixed with atmospheric pressures.

“The mix-up creates the effect sought by drug addicts …the impact of the substance is numbing and more of a psychedelic [feel], and gives an out-of-body experience,” she added. “The cases are isolated, but it is mainly that people are not very open about this method. We see a lot of these guys on the streets. In the streets, it’s very common.

“Additionally, the addiction goes way beyond the psychoactive substances, into activities like gambling and work, which are equally damaging in terms of impact on relationships and health issues,” she said.

“The mix-up creates the effect sought by drug addicts …the impact of the substance is numbing and more of a psychedelic [feel], and gives an out-of-body experience,” she added. “The cases are isolated, but it is mainly that people are not very open about this method. We see a lot of these guys on the streets. In the streets, it’s very common.

“Additionally, the addiction goes way beyond the psychoactive substances, into activities like gambling and work, which are equally damaging in terms of impact on relationships and health issues,” she said.

https://zapiforum.com/question/zimbabwean-youths-find-cheap-highs-in-used-diapers-sanitary-pads/

Lord have mercy; save youths who have lost their way in this battleground men call life, through Christ our Lord, amen.

Make Angel kuku blow trumpet.

Nah same category the guys up North dey

Some people will still mention Tinubu here