By Dale Vernor
Drug Addiction on the Rise in Africa
When it comes to drugs, no continent or country is immune to it. It may seem as if it’s impossible for a place like Africa to have a problem with drugs since the media makes it seem like it is in poverty. When there are drugs, there is money and Africa has plenty of both, but only certain people or organizations have it. Drugs have been on the rise in Africa, especially among the youth in South Africa.
According to South Africa’s Drug Authority, they have noticed a rise in drug addiction among their youth. This can lead them to commit crimes that they wouldn’t otherwise do without drugs. There is a recovery center in place to help the youth, but there still needs to be something in place so that the youth don’t fall prey to drugs in the beginning.
Why Do Youth Fall Prey?
The main reason youth fall prey to drugs is by living in low-income areas where there are no jobs. Poverty and drug addiction can unfortunately go hand in hand, so it should be no different in Africa. Oftentimes their friends introduce them to drugs, which after a while causes them to become addicted to it. Children want to fit in and if they don’t do what their friends are doing, then they are cast out. So, if their friends are doing drugs they will more than likely do the same thing. A lot of the times when people can’t get drugs, they’ll break into people’s homes, so they can find things to sell in order to buy more drugs.
In South Africa, their drugs are called whoonga or nyaope. It is a street drug consisting of different mixtures, such as rat poison, heroin, marijuana, anti-retroviral, and detergent. The drugs are addictive and cheap. It has gotten so bad that some youth have become drug dealers who sell the drugs at school to their peers. More than 10% of the people in South Africa are drug addicts.
West Africa has been plagued by drugs because of European markets pushing drugs into the region. They have just opened up their first drug rehabilitation center because there is an increase in drug addicts. The drug that is getting into the region is cannabis,
but they are finding that hard drugs like heroin is available as well. It has been estimated that there are at least one million heroin users in the region and a little over a million cocaine users.
Reasons for Increased Drug Activity
One reason that the region is seeing drugs more is that it is being trafficked from Senegal. Instead of paying people to smuggle them in, they use produce. They can easily hide the drugs in the produce without being noticed. Some believe that drug lords are dumping drugs into the region, so they can attract new customers. For example, a rock of crack is only $10.
When it comes to drug addicts, males from low to middle class are what you will see in the region. Most of the males are 25 and younger. There are females who are drug addicts, but the majority of them are males. The drug rehabilitation center that is available for recovering addicts sees a many males every morning who comes to get their daily dose of methadone. Some of the males have HIV from injecting themselves with infected needles when doing drugs.
Some drugs are available to be found before it hits its destination, but at other times it can’t. When small amounts of drugs are found, the authorities destroy it. Health officials and experts who have invested their time in the region believe that there isn’t enough done to tackle the problem.
Mr. Venor can be reached through [email protected]