Drug menace

Younger children are experimenting with drugs more than ever in the history of South Africa, and it appears to be widely spread over the racial, cultural and economic sections of society.

This is according to Superintendant Lobo das Neves, who presented a paper on the subject to teachers and parents at a seminar in Johannesburg earlier this month.

“Children as young as 10 and 11 become addicted to heroin and ‘tik’. No statistics are available as most schools and parents deal with their drugging kids outside the legal system. This is illegal. Research at various rehabilitation centres will show the decline in ages of their patients,” says Das Neves, who worked in the South African Police Narcotics Bureau for 14 years, and has been responsible for some of the biggest cocaine busts in the country.

The seminar, Drug-proofing Children, included practical tips on the signs of drug use and what the drugs look like because, in most cases, teachers and parents have not heard of many of the new drugs on the market – Cat (battery acid and cocaine), Sugars (a mixture of crack cocaine and Rattex, the poison used to kill rats) and tik. Parents and teachers may not have seen some of the “older” drugs either (Ecstacy, cocaine, Mandrax, LSD and heroin). The only drug most adults today recognise is marijuana, called “dagga” in South Africa.

The aim of the seminar was to spread awareness to teachers, parents, youth councillors and church youth workers, among others.

Das Neves says drugs can be obtained in poorer suburbs as easily as in affluent areas. “Gone are the days when one had to travel to Hillbrow to purchase drugs. Now it can be ordered via cellphones and it will be delivered within minutes. Schools are commonly used as offset points. Recently, I was handed a hand-drawn flyer that was distributed at a primary school advertising ‘weed at a good price’. This was distributed among primary schoolchildren and is currently under investigation. There are no ‘worst hit areas’ anymore. Drugs are portable, easily concealed and could be delivered to your front or back door without your child having to leave home.”

One of the reasons for the increase in usage and accessibility, he says, is poor parental control over money, valuables at home and, most importantly, a child’s movements. Money is no longer a necessity to obtain drugs. “A young and willing body can quickly be used to procure drugs.”

Das Neves appeals to teachers and parents to get involved in education and prevention. “The time has come for teachers and parents to realise that a heavier-than-ever burden is upon them to deal with the issue themselves.”

Dr Cyril Samuels, the principal of a Lenasia school, found from a survey of 52 grade 9 learners that most of them recognise there is a serious problem of drug and alcohol abuse partly because of “easy accessibility and peer pressure”. The drugs most commonly used are dagga, Mandrax and crack, but some of the learners mentioned Sugars and tik as well, he says.

Teachers, Samuels says, are meant to take note if there are “behavioural changes, loss of weight, change in appearance, frequent absenteeism, red eyes and a drop in school performance”. The drugs, the learners say, come from drug dealers in the area, peers and other family members. “Many of the respondents indicated that most drug addicts they know come from affluent homes.” What is needed is education at primary and high school level, stronger police presence around schools, arrest of drug dealers, raids at schools and rehabilitation, he says.

A former learner at a Pretoria high school, Mikael Subedar, whose friend died of a heroin overdose, says: “I don’t think that many teachers [or parents] know what is happening.” While drug taking is not very common on school grounds, he observed, drug testing does take place on the school premises. “Once, one of our deputy head boys tried to help another guy pass a drug test but he got caught and was demoted.”

Whether you get involved in drug experimenting or not, according to Subedar, depends on: the group of friends you have; the type of family you come from; the education you receive in school; and how well you withstand peer pressure. He feels that some parents give their children too much freedom, while others are too controlling and their children rebel. He adds that teachers often ignore the signs.

Charmaine Smith, a former teacher now running various educational, emotional and personal development courses, attributes the increasing drug prevalence to a culture of “instant gratification”. So, while children are told drugs are bad, they witness adult role models pop pills for the merest of headaches, for example, instead of lying down and having a glass of water. Adults, she says, take pills all the time – sleeping pills at night, energy boosters in the morning – not setting good examples for their children.

“The idea is that quick fixes solve problems. It’s easy to notice in class those who are on drugs – their marks suddenly go down, especially in maths, and they lose interest in their work, their usual social group, the extramural activities they once enjoyed. Their behaviour changes and they tend to find it difficult to stay awake in class.

“Everyone needs to be made aware of where kids get the drugs from. You can, for instance, pick them up at your nearest fast food outlets, security boom gates and garages. And a child can get completely stoned on just R50,” says Smith.

The signs of drug abuse

General signs:

Bloodshot eyes; stained hands; sudden change in eating habits; sudden change in weight; frequent use of eye drops; withdrawal from family; swearing; poor respect for adults; strange body odours; use of incense; change in general behaviour; strange friends; being talkative or secretive; late nights out; poor grades; poor personal hygiene; and lack of interest in school and sport.

Classroom behaviour:

Blasé about homework; disruptive, not paying attention in class; drop in marks, especially in maths, as the subject is known to be connected with emotional balance or lack thereof; loss of interest in a former passion; anti-social behaviour; shift in social groups at school; and inability to stay awake in class.

How to deal with users