1. If you are a youngster using drugs to forget about your
problems, because of peer pressure, to be sociable or for
any other reason… stop.
CHITRA BODASING
Le Roux said, “Drugs that af-
fect the brain do so by chang-
ing the brain’s chemistry.
“The brain adapts to the drug
which means it will need more
of the chemical each time as
the user attempts to repro-
duce the first high.
“Long-term or severe abuse
of chemical substances may
cause major physical and
emotional harm to the body.
Long-term effects may include
damage to almost all the
organs, neurological disorders
and adverse effects on the
central nervous system.”
Over time, continued use
leads to reduced motor skills
and verbal abilities and could
permanently affect the learn-
ing abilities of the user, espe-
cially when they start using at
an early age.
“They may also suffer mal-
nutrition, gum disease, tooth
loss, frequent nose bleeds,
deep chest coughs and poten-
tially fatal conditions.
“With drug addiction, preven-
tion is always better than cure.
“By the time people get to
SANCA their lives are unman-
ageable and their physical
and mental health is usually
poor.
“Parents and other people
need to talk to children about
drug abuse early,” said Le
Roux.
Why you should quit drugs
Not only could you suffer physical
and emotional harm but you could
also end up dead or hurt someone
else. The use and abuse of legal
and illegal substances among youth
in South Africa is of major concern.
The age at which children are
becoming exposed to drugs is far
younger now than before.
According to Louina le Roux, the
South African National Council on
Alcoholism & Drug Dependence
(SANCA) National Co-ordinator, the
number of youngsters using drugs
as well as the range of illegal drugs
available to them is increasing.
The use of alcohol among young-
sters has also become a way of life
and most social activities revolve
around the use of alcohol. During
the 2014/2015 reporting year, 22
percent of the number of people in
treatment at SANCA centres were
between the ages of 14 and 17.
According to Le Roux, the primary
drugs of choice are dagga and alco-
hol followed by heroin/opiates. “The
trend to use mixed drugs such as
Nyaope is prevalent in Gauteng and
Mpumalanga and of equal concern.
Drug usage also depends to a cer-
tain extent on area,” said Le Roux.
Dope
DrugsNOT
Having counselled a number
of parents, Henning Jacobs,
the trauma support co-ordina-
tor at ER24, said, “Children
must know that their choice
to use drugs influences
everyone they love and care
for. For a parent, finding out
that their child is on drugs
is devastating. After finding
out, parents are in a state of
shock. Parents experience
anger, sadness, hurt, fear and
frustration. They feel betrayed
by their own children.”
The emotional impact on
parents is immense and this
influences their jobs, physical
and mental health and family
responsibilities. If there are
siblings, they are also affect-
ed. Parents often have to
spend less time with the other
children to help the child that
has a drug problem.
“That can make the other
children feel like they are
being punished or neglected
even though they did nothing
wrong. This causes turmoil.
“The family joy fades away.
Family members almost drift
apart from each other.
“The whole dynamics of the
family changes. Even when
the child is ‘clean’, there will
be fear of a relapse,” said
Jacobs.
Jacobs said the best thing any
parent can do is support and
love their children uncondi-
tionally.
“Coming out of the addiction is
difficult and many children in
the past stated the only thing
that helped them was love
from their parents. It is difficult
for parents to shower their
children with love after finding
out about their addiction.
However, it can help. The
problem is also that parents
often want a quick result and
demand children get over
the addiction. There will be
occasions when parents think
about giving up. They should
not,” said Jacobs. He urged
parents not to use fear or an-
ger to help the child get over
their drug addiction.
“Anger and fear will only fuel
the addiction. Rehabs and
drug centres are there to
attend to the child’s addiction
through professional meth-
ods. What the child needs
from parents is support and
love,” he said. ER24’s Emer-
gency Contact Centre can be
reached 24 hours a day on
084 124.
Impact on your family
What to do