War on drugs blows up in Western Cape's face

Nearly half of South Africa's reported drug-related crime between April last year and March this year was in the Western Cape.

Out of 134 840 incidents recorded nationally, 60 409 were in the province - an increase of 14.5 percent over last year's figures for the region. The number is also 200 percent higher than in the comparable period to March 2004.

The area with the most cases in the region, Mitchells Plain, recorded 6 572 drug-related crimes, up from 5 705 last year. Elsies River, Bishop Lavis and Manenberg were also drug crime hotspots.

The Medical Research Council's (MRC) Andreas Pluddemann said Mitchells Plain, with a population of 1.2 million, was the province's largest suburb and cautioned that this should be taken into account when analysing the area's high drug crime

Each sector patrol vehicle was expected to conduct a minimum of 20 stop-and-search operations each day, he said.

According to MRC figures, tik is still the most commonly used drug in the province.

Pluddemann said tik, crack cocaine and heroin were the drugs of choice for Western Cape users.

Speaking about the police's efforts to get drugs off the province's streets, Pluddemann said there remained more than enough drugs for users.

While there were a large number of drug-related arrests, "they are not really getting to the manufacturers", he said (IOL)

You have to wonder where you'd have to look to find evidence of success in the clampdown we see here? 60409 people in the Western Cape get criminal records. Now how are they supposed to get jobs? Ruining lives forever because someone has a medical problem never solved anything. Drug addiction is a medical, not criminal issue. Criminalizing drugs drives it underground meaning addicts do not get the treatment they need. The incarceration of addicts is a total misallocation of resources. Why not spend the same money on providing rehabilitation rather than wanting to put people in prison. The prohibition has failed, since there are more than enough drugs! South Africa has maintained a prohibitionist policy in it's National Drug Master Plans. Since 1998 tik and heroin has appeared from nowhere. Now it's ubiquitous. Kids in Khayelitsha are smoking it. If this is success for a prohibitionist I'd hate to know what failure looks like. From where I stand I just see the state failing out people.