Know your drugs - 23 Jun 2008

The period 24 to 30 June is National Drug Awareness week - all too pertinent with the growing problem of addiction in South African society. Time was that we were relatively shielded from the horrors of drugs such as heroin and cocaine - ironically enough one of the few good effects of international isolation. But our entry into the world post-1994 has unfortunately brought an opening up of the international market in drugs of abuse.

Tik abuse is a major problem - cutting across social barriers as children from all walks of life fall victim to its lure.

But, let's not forget the other drugs of abuse - alcohol and cigarettes. When my husband was teaching a few years ago, he found that kids as young as 14 would come in on Mondays with hangovers - and how much they had drunk over the weekend was a source of pride and competition. Most of these youngsters also smoked. These two drugs are socially acceptable but take a huge toll in disease and general human misery. Alcohol is one of the major causes of violence in our society - both domestic and otherwise. And as for toll on the roads - most road traffic accidents, whether involving two cars or cars and pedestrians, are fuelled by alcohol in South Africa.

So, know your drugs and recognise that just because certain drugs of abuse are legal this doesn't mean that they are harmless.