Heroin, Recovery, Uganda & Rwanda’s Addiction Crisis — Steve Khald Maridadi on Drugs, Trauma & System Failure

Heroin, Recovery, Uganda & Rwanda’s Addiction Crisis — Steve Khald Maridadi on Drugs, Trauma & System Failure

From The Long Form Podcast by LF MEDIA

February 23, 2026 · 2h 40m · Season 4 · Episode 4

About this episode

Steve Khald Maridadi discusses heroin addiction and the systemic failures contributing to the crisis in Uganda and Rwanda.

What does heroin actually do to a human being — and why are so many young Africans falling into addiction? In this raw and unfiltered conversation, Steve Khald Maridadi a Rwandan filmmaker, opens up about heroin addiction, cocaine, laced marijuana, recovery, psych wards, and the system that failed him. We explore how drug addiction works biologically and psychologically, why jailing addicts may be the wrong solution, and how stigma pushes addiction underground. Sponsors: Threat Informat - h...

People in this episode

Guest: Steve Khald Maridadi

Topics covered

  • heroin addiction
  • recovery
  • drug stigma
  • psychological trauma
  • system failure

Keywords

  • heroin
  • addiction
  • recovery
  • psych wards
  • stigma
  • young Africans
  • system failure

Sponsors

Threat Informat

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Uganda, Rwanda

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