Dagga and alcohol are the two substances most frequently leading to addiction and breakdown of Grahamstown families, according to Famsa.
Dagga and alcohol are the two substances most frequently leading to addiction and breakdown of Grahamstown families, according to Famsa.
Wednesday, 26 June, was International Drug Awareness Day.
According to the World Health Organization it is estimated that 1 in 20 people have used some sort of illicit drug in 2010, and the trend is growing.
Bulelani Batyi, a social worker at Famsa, says substances abused most in Grahamstown are alcohol and dagga.
"Our clients are not financially well off and resort to the more affordable drugs,” Batyi said this week.
Batyi said many families seeking help had been affected by the cycle of drug abuse. She described the pattern as beginning with drug use, then losing a job, financial problems and loss of dignity.
This intensifies dependency on drugs. To break the cycle, an addict needed to get help.
With the increasing availability of drugs and their growing popularity among the young and socially disadvantaged, Batyi said, awareness days such as should be only the start of longer-term plans to prevent drug abuse.
Vivian De Klerk, the Dean of Students at Rhodes University. believes International Drug Awareness Day is an excellent idea.
“We need to remind people repeatedly of the danger of using illicit substances,” she said.
According to De Klerk, peer pressure and the easy availability of illicit substances leads students to drug-taking.
Once students are addicted, she warns, the results can range from academic failure to schizophrenia (if one is genetically susceptible) and even death.
De Klerk stressed that help was available for students with addictions.
