He used to be one of the stars in your classroom, an energetic and hard worker who always achieved top marks. But suddenly his performance slumped; he is aloof, arrives late at school, visits the toilet endlessly, is untidy and rebellious.
You sense there is a problem, but you just cannot put your finger on it.
‘Dig deeper,” urged Captain Jan Combrinck, ‘as these are some of the tell-tale signs of drug abuse.”
Combrinck should know, for he has been the face of the fight against drug abuse in schools for 12 years and he has just been roped in by the Gauteng commissioner of police to coordinate a drug enforcement team.
He said the extent of the drug problem is worrying particularly because the ‘age-group of children using drugs is getting younger”.
‘Ten years ago the problem was confined to 16- to 24-year-olds, but now children as young as eight to 11 or 14 to 17 are into drugs,” said Combrinck.
He said about 25% of schools experience the problem of drug abuse and this cuts across age, race and gender.
He is driving a campaign to educate communities about the dangers of drug abuse, especially among schoolchildren. Combrinck pioneered a school-based ‘drugs free schools zone” in the early 1990s in Bosmont in the West Rand.
‘I visit schools and do pro-active presentations to learners and teachers where we focus on the identification of drugs and their effects. I must say the campaign is proving successful,” said Combrinck. He said learners are also cooperative and in some instances they even confess to using drugs.
He said the lack of knowledge to identify drugs limits the role teachers and parents can play in dealing with the problem. Combrinck added that he has visited more than 300 schools and has established strong links with about 1 000 school principals.
‘The idea is to escalate this to provinces as well as the national Department of Education,” said Combrinck. His wish is to have drug awareness integrated into the school curriculum.
Combrinck said peer group pressure is no longer the main cause for children trying drugs. ‘Other factors such as lack of role models or father figures, boredom and the search for excitement come into play.” He appealed to people who are in the public eye to behave in an exemplary manner as children look up to them.
He said an unstable family environment could also push children to use drugs. He is worried that most parents seem to ‘abdicate their responsibilities to teachers”. ‘It does not work that way. Parents have to realise that they too have a role to play. In fact they are the ones who should lay a basis,” said Combrinck.
He said drug dealers target places that children frequent in numbers. ‘Any venue where there is a lot of young people, there is a potential. These would be shopping malls, sport grounds, night clubs, to mention a few,” said Comrinck.
He said the dealer’s strategy is to flood schools with drugs free of charge until children get hooked and there is a demand. He estimated that, on average, one might spend around R30 000 a month to maintain a drug habit. Because this is a hefty amount of money, boys often resort to crime while girls turn to prostitution.
He is confident the war against drugs could be won if everybody plays a role. ‘We need people who are determined and have passion. People should not do it simply because it is part of their job description.
‘I can go as far as to say this is a job I am prepared to die for,” said Combrinck.
Drug facts
Signs of drug abuse:
Dilation or narrowing of eye pupils;
- Poor hygiene;
- Loss of appetite;
- Nausea;
- Watery eyes;
- Persistent sniffing;
- Needle marks;
- Rebelliousness;
- Constant visit to toilet;
- Change of friends (does not keep the same circle of friends);
- Closes up and always aloof; and
- Wearing tight clothing (does not show parts of his/her body).
Types of drugs commonly used
Drugs are divided into uppers and downers.
Uppers (those that induce hyperactivity); poppers, tik-tik, cocaine, crack cocaine, cat and magic mushrooms.
Downers (also known as narcotics); dagga, heroine, tranquillisers (often prescribed by doctors), depressants (also legally provided) and alcohol.