MANY are times that society has condemned public service vehicle (PSV) drivers and conductors for what is termed as unruly behaviour.
The drivers and conductors have been a menace to their passengers, fellow motorists and law-enforcement agencies such as the Zambia Police and the Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA).
Their behaviour is mostly caused by drug and alcohol abuse, and many of them are addicts who cannot operate without being intoxicated with either beer or drugs such as cannabis.
The drivers and conductors, most of them being a youthful generation need all the help they can get for them to realise that drug and alcohol abuse harms their bodies.
It is in this vein that we support the Drug-Enforcement Commission’s (DEC) move to hold sensitisation meetings for the drivers and conductors right in their stations.
Last week, the Commission held a two-day sensitisation meeting for drivers and conductors at Millennium bus station in Lusaka.
DEC should be commended for coming up with such an idea, especially that the message given to the drivers and conductors was not about arrests but that the addicts should feel free to approach the Commission so that they can be counselled and helped to refrain from drug and alcohol abuse.
The Commission assured drug abusers seeking reformation that they would not be prosecuted once they sought help from the DEC.
DEC community sensitisation programme officer Hope Shiwala said the Commission was not only involved in prosecuting drug abusers, but that it also offered counselling services to abusers who wanted to stop the habit.
Ms Shiwala said her department was particularly concerned about sensitising the public on the dangers of drug abuse to one’s health.
She cited cannabis as one such commonly abused drug whose effects included reduction in sperm count, over 50 cancer-causing chemicals and significantly lessening lung functions, thereby putting the abuser at risk of contracting respiratory infections.
Ms Shiwala observed that cannabis mainly affected the central nervous system, altered moods, coordination, altered memory and self-perception because of the Tetra Hydro Cannabinol which changed several transmitter systems in the brain.
Clinician Brian Mweemba focused on other drugs such as Benylin and Valium, which he said should not be used if not prescribed by doctors as over-dosage equally posed great risks to one’s brain, which he described as the body’s engine.
DEC provides drug counselling services through its National Education Campaign Division offices and networks with health institutions like Chainama Hospital, provincial general hospitals and other organisations in the provision of drug-dependence treatment.
DEC has done well to explain to the drivers and conductors that its mandate is not only to arrest but also help those wishing to stop the abuse of drugs and alcohol.
What the Commission needs to do is to up its game and reach out to as many drivers and conductors as possible if the exercise is to bear the desired fruits.