Mayor pours booze down the drain

More than 5000 bottles of alcohol confiscated on beaches this holiday season have been destroyed by the City of Cape Town.

Mayor of Cape Town Patricia De Lille, the mayoral committee member for safety and security JP Smith, and the member for social and early childhood development, Beverley Cortje-Alcock, poured all the alcohol down a drain at an Ndabeni storage facility.

The 2600 litres of confiscated alcohol were worth R66000. The haul of alcohol included cases of beer, ciders, brandy and champagne.

De Lille said: “One of the biggest problems around this time of year is people taking their alcohol to drink on beaches or other public spaces. Alcohol is banned on all city beaches. Our law enforcement officers will patrol the beaches over the festive season. We cannot be a society that condones personal entertainment without responsibility or consequences for illegal behaviour.

“We need to get rid of the stigma attached to Cape Town being the binge drinking capital of South Africa,” she said. (from the New Age)

Anti-drug campaign launched

Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini has told Khayelitsha residents they could not rely on government to combat substance abuse.

She was speaking at the launch of a drug abuse campaign in the Cape Town on Wednesday.

The minister said the non-governmental organisations in Khayelitsha should unite to help fight the abuse.

Dlamini also called on the community to unite with a common purpose.

She encouraged a group of former drug addicts to start studying and complete their education.

Referring to the increase in South African drug mules, Dlamini called on parents to be more vigilant.

She added drug pushers were targeting the vulnerable and poor.

- Eyewitness News

Doccie reveals how drugs destroy young lives

Delft, South Africa, 2011. And the living is not good. Youngsters have been turned into zombies with street drugs taking possession of them, ripping their lives apart.

Sound like a science fiction movie? Well, it’s not.

It’s a local documentary, screened for the first time in the city on Friday night, in which young tik addicts from the area give a brutally honest account of the stranglehold the drug has on them and what it has done to their lives.

Local production company Street Talk decided to make the movie to help curb the impact of tik abuse in their communities.

The film, Tik: The Devil Within, was made by two of the company’s film-makers Akhona Ndoloshe, 27, and Thembela Dick, 25, and was shot in Ndoloshe’s home area of Delft where there have been many problems with drug abuse.

He said: “In my area there are a lot of youngsters who drop out of school and they resort to drugs. Then they find themselves in and out of jail with no future.”

Ndoloshe, who interviewed people affected by drugs in the documentary, added that the film was centred around a group of addicts who would all use, buy and speak about tik on camera.

He said: “At first it was hard to get them to speak about it on camera, but after spending more time with them it was easier.”

Dick, who held the camera throughout the movie, added that although some of the scenes were frightening, the film was also filled with eye-opening scenes.

She said: “We also filmed a 15-year-old girl who was addicted to tik and was pregnant. I thought to myself, if she continues like this where will she be in five years?”

Dick hopes that this movie will help educate young people in all areas of the Western Cape, including her area, Gugulethu.

Ndoloshe said: “My dream is that the film will be seen by the government and they will decide to finally help the people, because there is not enough being done at the moment.”

However, Grant Jardine, manager of the Cape Town Drug Counselling Centre, has warned that scare tactics used in an effort to curb drug addiction often had the opposite effect.

He said though the fight against drugs in Cape Town had intensified, the situation remained as dire as before.

“The situation has remained the same, the only difference is the kind of drugs. Tik and heroin have become the drugs of choice over dagga and Mandrax.”

Jardine added that tik and heroin were incredibly addictive, which was a major reason for the increased usage of the drug.

He said: “It is highly likely that people will try tik and heroin and become addicted, which has led to the drugs having a bigger impact.”

*The movie will be screened on Cape Town TV (CTV) on Saturday night at 6pm and is available to view on www.streettalktv.com

- IOL

Police force residents to eat dagga

A video of what appears to be two police officers forcing residents in Hanover Park to eat dagga confiscated from them is being investigated by the community’s police forum.

The incident in Surburg Walk was captured on a resident’s cellphone in a video recording on Sunday.

On Tuesday, Die Son ran stills from the video which showed two men dressed in the official police uniform.

One uniformed man, with a black cap, can be seen holding back a woman’s head and apparently putting something in her mouth, while the other uniformed man can be seen holding back the head of a man and putting something in his mouth.

A woman, with what appears to be a baby on her back, is also apparently forced to eat something. The substance the residents were fed was allegedly dagga.

Community safety MEC Dan Plato said he had addressed police authorities about the images, which had left him feeling disturbed.

“They are aware of it. That’s not the role of the police.

“If they wanted to arrest people, then they should have made arrests.

“They are there to enforce the law,” he said.

Anthony Daniels, chairman of the Hanover Park Community Police Forum (CPF), said the CPF had launched its own inquiry into the incident.

“I won’t have the full story yet, but we are investigating it ourselves.

“I’m going to be very disturbed if these images should turn out to be the truth,” he said. (from IOL)

Police find large consigment of TIK

Two people have been arrested in Beaufort West after being found in possession of a consignment of tik with a street value of around R3 million, Western Cape police said on Wednesday.

The two, aged 24 and 38, were arrested when the Vehicle Identification Safeguarding Unit and the K9-Unit stopped a minibus en-route from Bloemfontein to Cape Town at a weighbridge on the N1 at 3.15pm on Tuesday, Captain Bernadine Steyn said.

"During their search of the minibus, they found five paper-bags containing a huge consignment of pure tik inside the spare tyre, attached to the rear bottom of the vehicle," she said.

It was later established that the tik, also known as crystal methampetamine, weighed about 9.6kg.

The two were expected to appear in the Beaufort West Magistrate's Court on Friday on a charge of dealing in drugs. (The New Age)

Cocaine mules caught at Cape Town International

Some Cape Town doctors had a rather unusual day on Tuesday – they were in charge of the very slow process of monitoring two alleged drug mules as they “processed” at least 145 capsules containing drugs.

The men, a South African and a Congolese, were arrested at Cape Town International Airport as they arrived from Brazil, via Qatar, on Monday evening. Border police nabbed the two, aged 25 and 35, in an operation conducted with the help of Customs Border Control.

Police spokesman November Filander said the men’s luggage was searched during a routine check and a photo frame, containing 200g of cocaine worth approximately R57 500, was confiscated.

Filander said the pair also confessed to “transporting drugs in their systems”.

“They were taken to hospital for X-rays where they were positively tested for swallowing ‘bullets’ containing drugs. They are still in hospital to allow doctors to remove the drugs,” Filander said. (from IOL)

Call to ban smoking in cars

Smoking should be banned in cars to protect drivers and passengers – especially children – from breathing in toxins far worse than those found in smoky bars, the nation's doctors have demanded.

The British Medical Association (BMA) is urging ministers across the UK to extend the ban on smoking in public places introduced in 2007 to all vehicles in a further effort to protect people's health.

Children are at particular risk from secondhand smoke in cars because they take in more of the chemicals from cigarettes than adults and may not be able to refuse to travel in a smoky car.

The BMA called for a ban after reviewing previously published research studies into cars and smoking.

A car's occupants are exposed to 23 times more toxins than they would encounter in a bar, the BMA's review found. Older people, who are more likely to have breathing problems, are also at extra risk of health damage from inhaling secondhand smoke in a car, it added.

The government is unlikely to do what the BMA recommends, though. "We do not believe that legislation is the most effective way to encourage people to change their behaviour," a Department of Health spokesman said. (from Guardian)

City sets up substance abuse strategy

The City of Cape Town has implemented a substance abuse strategy after research showed a link between addiction and tens of thousands of “unauthorised absences” clocked up by its workforce in just one year.

In 2009, city employees clocked up 35,000 days of “unauthorised absences”, 235 dismissals and 510 resignations.

The figures were part of the city’s absenteeism analysis.

The city employs more than 27,000 people.

Demetri Qually, the mayoral committee member for corporate services, said the city had been working with the Medical Research Council (MRC) and had found a link between absenteeism trends and addiction.

The MRC is conducting a two-year study investigating the scope of drug use in the workplace in Cape Town, including the city council.

Qually said the city wanted to conduct more research on the issue with the MRC.

“It is envisaged that the city will benefit more from the research that the city seeks to initiate in partnership with the MRC using data from participating departments and directorates,” he said.

It would also start an awareness campaign for employees, which would encourage those who were affected to seek help from the city.

A report on the strategy was tabled before the corporate services portfolio committee last week.

The city piloted the Matrix project, an outpatient rehabilitation programme, with 15 employees.

The first group graduated last month, after being sober for more than 120 days.

Last week the portfolio committee gave the go-ahead for a second round.

The report said the strength of this programme was that employees could remain in their “normal environment”.

They had a strong support system because line managers played active roles in the rehabilitation process.

“The approach changed from being punitive to a supportive one which regards alcohol and drug dependency as a disease,” states the report.

This programme is just one of the measures to help employees struggling with substance abuse.

There is also a suggestion in the report that the city buy drug-testing kits through a tender process and introduce “on the spot” drug testing.

Line managers and supervisors will be trained to “manage and test” employees with substance abuse problems.

It’s hoped these plans will lead to a “zero tolerance” approach toward substance abuse.

Qually said the absenteeism in the analysis related to incidents that could not be explained by employees.

He said the rates had since been reduced.

According to the report, the city had also found that employees lived in areas with high substance abuse rates.

Another issue was the number of employees who had been to in-patient rehabilitation programmes, but had relapsed.

Although the city supported treatment for addiction, he said few employees were willing to discuss their problems.

“Very few staff members are open about the fact that performance issues are related to the disease of addiction and often only after disciplinary processes is this information shared with line managers,” said Qually.

Of those who participated in the Matrix programme, 70 percent were involved in a disciplinary hearing.

For 60 percent, it was not the first time they faced the process.

Speaking on the higher number of resignations versus dismissals, Qually said many employees resigned before they could be served with notices of further action.

He said it was not possible to give exact figures on how many employees were struggling with substance abuse.

The SA National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (Sanca) in the Western Cape said there were no figures on how many office workers were struggling with addiction.

Tertius Cronje, Sanca’s corporate services director, said the council was working with the MRC on a study to determine the scope of the problem.

Cronje said the council was assisting with the field work for the study.

It is being headed by Nadine Harker-Burnhams, a scientist in the MRC’s alcohol and drug abuse research unit.

The study is the subject of her doctoral thesis.

- Cape Argus

22 people held for drugs in Mitchells Plein

Western Cape police say 22 people have been arrested for drug possession in Cape Town's Mitchells Plain.

Police spokesperson Frederick van Wyk said the 22 were arrested during an all-night crime prevention operation, starting on Friday night.

Van Wyk said various illegal drugs, including 47 dagga cigarettes, 13 mandrax tablets, 11 small packets of tik and six units of heroin were confiscated.

The suspects will appear in the Mitchells Plain Magistrate's Court on Monday on charges relating to possession of drugs. (from News24)

Warehouse of dagga and booze destroyed

---

inlsa

Police pour confiscated alcohol into a large container.

In certain parts of the Flats, a warehouse full of booze and a few bags of dagga often means a lekker, fat jol.

But not when cops are in a party-pooping mood, ready to destroy illegal dop and confiscated drugs worth millions.

On Thursday, more than 858kg of dagga went up in smoke and liquor worth more than R125 000 was flushed away by cops in a strong message to criminals.

Western Cape police commissioner General Arno Lamoer told reporters at Delft’s Medical Waste Management: “For the last nine months, police have confiscated drugs worth R7.9 billion. These have all been possible thanks to tip-offs from communities.”

Police officials and the media watched as Lamoer poured famous brands like Southern Comfort, Red Heart Rum, J&B and Klipdrfit into a large container before watching the bags of dagga go up in smoke.

A police official at the Delft facility said that some of the liquor, all of which was confiscated from illegal shebeens, had passed its expiry dates and that some tavern owners even brewed some of the booze.

“We find that some of the alcohol is home-made and that the shebeen owners would stick the labels on themselves,” the official said.

At the end of the operation, those who hoped to score a leftover six-pack were left disappointed when members of the media and SAPS were served snacks, bottled water and soft drinks.

The officers also made sure no one was allowed to stand downwind from where the dagga was being burned.

- Daily Voice

Safety MEC gets an ultimatum

Residents of a Mitchells Plain suburb hit hard by a drug epidemic are furious that Community Safety MEC Dan Plato told them not to get emotional, and have called for him to step down if he can’t shut down drug dens they say are operating in their area.

Angry residents and parents of drug addicts from Beacon Valley vented their frustration yesterday after attending a round table discussion on drugs and crime in the Western Cape, during which Plato told parents “not to get emotional” about the surge in drug abuse and crime.

The debate was hosted by 567 CapeTalk as part of the fourth anniversary of Primedia Broadcasting’s Crime Line.

Western Cape police commissioner Lieutenant-General Arno Lamoer and Plato were told by residents how drugs were destroying the community and how dealers operated “under the noses of police”.

After the discussion, Mitchells Plain community worker Cheryl Philander said the residents would give Plato an ultimatum.

She said there were 28 drug houses known to police in Beacon Valley and that unemployed youths were being employed by dealers to sell drugs to school children.

“Something has to be done before the end of the month to close those drug houses. The police know where these drug dealers live... but do nothing about it.”

Philander said she was disgusted by Plato’s response to the drug and crime problem in Mitchells Plain.

Plato said during the discussion that his department would work with the community police forum and neighbourhood watches in Mitchells Plain and across the province. “Drug abuse is a big problem, but we must not get emotional.”

Philander said Plato’s response was “disgraceful”.

“It’s very sad. Plato is not fit for that position. Our children are being turned into zombies because of tik and heroin.”

The call for Plato to step down was backed by the Mitchells Plain Community Policing Forum.

Its chairman Michael Jacobs, who also attended the discussion, said: “Dan Plato is not in touch with the community. He doesn’t know what the issues are and was the wrong man for the job. Plato’s attitude towards the community stinks. Helen Zille should remove him from her cabinet.

“We are tired. Every time (the) government tells us to partner with them but they do nothing. The government must come to the party. Stop talking. We need action.”

Plato today refused to comment about calls for him to quit. He said he was “misunderstood” when he told residents not to get emotional.

“There were claims made about them reporting these matters to my office and I told them not to get emotional about it.”

He said it was not his duty to get rid of drug dealers, but the duty of the police and Lamoer.

“... My job is that of oversight. I cannot instruct and give the provincial commissioner orders. I can only facilitate to try to get rid of the problem,” said Plato

He said he would meet with Mitchells Plain residents soon to listen to their complaints.

“The only way we are going to get rid of the drug problem in the Western Cape is by going after the high-flyers... but the police will have to spearhead that initiative,” he said.

Also at the discussion was Carol Mentor, whose 31-year-old son is addicted to heroin. She said more than 70 children in her street in Beacon Valley were using drugs, while drug dealers were “coining it”.

“The parents are suffering, but the authorities don’t care,” she said. “They only care about their seats in Parliament and their positions. The police and ministers must start doing their jobs. We want these tik

houses closed in Beacon valley and across Mitchells Plain.”

Beacon Valley ward councillor the Edwin Andrews said: “These drug dens are strategically

Lamoer said police would follow up on every complaint and tip-off from residents.

During the radio discussion, Lamoer said police had seized R7.9 billion worth of drugs in nine months in the province.

Regarding Plato’s call for the police to reinstate the dedicated drug and gang units, Lamoer said: “There are no plans to do that. We have the organised crime unit and the Hawks, who are doing a sterling job. There are sufficient units in place to deal with these problems.”

Provincial police spokesman Andre Traut said the allegation that police weren’t doing anything about known drug dens was unfair.

“... Drug-related crimes enjoy an extremely high priority with the Western Cape police.” He said this was born out by the regular and recent drug busts and countless arrests. – Additional Reporting by Murray Williams

- Cape Argus

Policeman arrested for drunken driving

A Mitchells Plain policeman was arrested for drunken driving after he crashed his vehicle, Western Cape police said on Saturday.

Captain FC van Wyk said an unmarked Mitchells Plain police vehicle had crashed into an Opel Corsa bakkie in Vanguard Drive, Weltevreden Valley on Friday.

The driver of the police vehicle, a 26-year-old constable, was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.

He was released on R500 bail and would appear in the Mitchells Plain Magistrate's Court on July 11. (from News24)

More heat on Cape’s drunk drivers

Western Cape transport authorities are set to open two more alcohol testing “Shadow” centres in the province to intensify their campaign to get drunk drivers off the roads and behind bars.

The centres, in Worcester and either Vredenburg or Cape Town’s northern suburbs, are set to open in a few months’ time, the Department of Transport and Public Works has confirmed.

This will bring to four the number of Safely Home Anti-Drunk-driving Operations War Room (Shadow) facilities in the Western Cape. The new centres are expected to “mirror” the state-of-the-art detention and testing centre in Athlone and will be built in partnership with SA Breweries (SAB).

Suspected drunk drivers are taken to the centres to measure their breath alcohol content. If tested at above 0.24mg of alcohol per 1 000ml of breath, the person is arrested, sent for blood tests, and detained.

The first centre was opened along Vanguard Drive in Athlone two years ago. A year later, Transport and Public Works MEC Robin Carlisle opened the second in George.

The Shadow centre in Worcester was almost complete, and officials were still determining whether to build the fourth centre in Vredenburg on the West Coast or in the northern suburbs, said Carlisle.

“We are discussing the location with the SAPS and other law enforcement units, because it’s them who bring in the most drunk drivers.

“The centres are very expensive - they cost between R2.5 million and R3m - but they are necessary to get drunk drivers off the roads. The psychological impact on the driver is enormous. The centre has a restraining impact on drivers.”

Provincial traffic chief Kenny Africa said there was a definite need for more Shadow centres, especially after the Western Cape “became known nationally” as the province with the highest number of drunk drivers in the country.

“This is the reality of the situation, and it’s killing innocent pedestrians and motorists every month,” said Africa. “We arrest drunk drivers across the province every week. We need these facilities in the Boland, the West Coast and the northern suburbs.”

Africa said drunk driving had become “an illness” in the Western Cape.

“We are fighting this evil every weekend. People are simply not listening. But the message is clear: we won’t take any nonsense. If you are drunk, we will arrest you.”

Since December 2009, 8 669 suspected drunk drivers have been tested at the centre in Athlone and 468 at the centre in George.

And despite no final ruling on the use of the Dräger breathalyser, tests using the device would continue at the centres across the province, said Carlisle.

Last month, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said it was confident that the Dräger would pass legal muster in the Western Cape High Court, despite its decision to have all drunk driving cases involving the device provisionally withdrawn or postponed.

The case is to be heard on July 28.

Western Cape NPA spokesman Eric Ntabazalila said all cases on the roll involving the device would be provisionally withdrawn and newer ones postponed.

The NPA’s decision followed a ruling in the Durban Magistrate’s Court that cleared a suspected drunk driver who was tested on the device.

But Carlisle warned suspected drunk drivers that the NPA’s decision to postpone their cases did not mean that they were “off the hook for long”.

“When we win that case in the Cape High Court, the NPA will then bring all those cases back on to the roll,” he said.

“We are confident that we are going to win that case. There is nothing we have heard so far in the court case that worries us. But if we don’t win it, we are going to appeal the decision all the way to the Constitutional Court.”

Clifford Joseph Hendricks, 27, of Kewtown, who is at the centre of the case, was arrested on January 23 last year for alleged drunk driving.

It previously emerged in court that Hendricks had been taken to the Shadow centre in Athlone and tested with a Dräger. It measured the concentration of alcohol in his breath as 0.95mg/1 000ml, nearly four times the legal limit.

Hendricks pleaded not guilty and is now contesting the efficacy of the instrument.

The city’s mayoral committee member for safety and security, JP Smith, said he supported the Shadow centre initiative “100 percent”.

“We want the Shadow centre in Athlone to run at full steam. Not much is happening there now because of the Dräger case. We support Dräger and want it to be used. Waiting for blood test results takes too long. The Dräger is reliable enough.” (From IOL)

Drinking responsibly

More Cannabis arrests...

Two men were arrested by police on Tuesday while transporting a large consignment of dagga in a truck on the N1 between Colesberg and Bloemfontein, Northern Cape police said. "The police, in conjunction with the local traffic department, responded to a tip-off by pouncing on the suspects around 02:00," said spokesperson Mashay Gamieldien.

She said police searched the truck and found sixteen bags of dagga with an estimated street value of R2.57m, which were hidden in the front trailer of the vehicle.

The men were aged 34 and 35.

"We suspect the dagga was destined for Cape Town, and it was seized by the police together with the truck," Gamieldien said.

Meanwhile police in De Aar arrested a 19-year-old man for possession of 17 packets of dagga with an estimated street value of R238 000.

A 51-year-old man was also arrested after the police found dagga with an estimated street value of R38 500 in his possession. (from News24)

Ban on alcohol advertising "no matter what"

A complete ban on alcohol advertising will result in a total loss of revenue, including sponsorship, sports development leveraging, events and below the line activities, of R2.6 billion, a preliminary impact study has found.

The actual impact on alcohol abuse would be negligible, independent marketing analyst Chris Moerdyk said in a statement today.

Loss of above the line advertising revenue for the mass media would be R1.8 billion.

The SABC would lose about R400 million, Dstv and e.tv combined about R500 million, and radio, lifestyle magazines, and newspapers the balance.

Another impact on the mass media industry would be job losses of about 2500 – mainly low earner employees in the print and out of home (outdoor) sectors, as well as sports marketing and management companies.

However, many media companies believed the figure of 2 500 was too low, Moerdyk said.

The impact on the alcohol industry itself would be a short-term drop in branded liquor consumption of between five and eight percent, but this would
recover in the medium-term due to direct marketing.

“Brand leaders would, in fact, benefit from an advertising ban by increasing market share at the expense of lesser placed brands.”

The impact on dependants of retrenched employees would result in approximately 30 000 people losing their breadwinners due to the high number of dependants per breadwinner in the lower ranks of the workforces, in particularly the print and out of home industries.

The impact on alcohol abuse would be negligible, Moerdyk said.

Precedents in Canada, Denmark, and New Zealand found no evidence of reducing alcohol abuse – which resulted in bans on alcohol advertising being lifted.

The impact on substance abuse in poorer areas would also be negligible due to alcohol and substance abuse emanating mainly from non-branded liquor products such as home brews and methylated spirits as well as, glue, tik, and other substances.

Regarding the impact on the South African fiscus, Moerdyk said a study was still underway by an independent accountancy firm.

However, one example would be the loss of VAT on about R2 billion of the R2.6 billion, due to advertising budgets being allocated directly to the bottom line in most liquor firms. VAT loss would be some R280 million.

An unintended consequence of a ban on alcohol advertising would be increasing pressure from within South Africa and the World Health Organisation (WHO) to ban fast food advertising.

The WHO had identified obesity as the biggest global health hazard.

It would be difficult for government to justify banning alcohol advertising without banning fast food advertising, the impact of which would be a further 3 000 job losses in the media and marketing industries.

The impact on television programming would be two-fold. Firstly, the inability to purchase sports programming from overseas due to a loss of revenue, and secondly, the inability to broadcast sports and lifestyle programming containing embedded liquor sponsorship or branded content.

“Given the role advertising leveraging plays in liquor industry-sponsored sports development projects, these projects would more than likely be curtailed or abandoned should the liquor industry not be able to derive any added value benefit.”

Further, liquor industry sponsored Drink/Drive advertising campaigns at Easter and Christmas could be severely compromised should liquor industry sponsors not be able to “brand” these campaigns.

South Africa’s potential to host international sporting and commercial events and exhibitions would also be compromised should any of these events have a global liquor sponsor, such as Budweiser for the 2010 World Cup, Moerdyk said. (From IOL)

ATM Inside

Drager ban won't let drivers off hook

The recent decision by the National Prosecuting Authority to withdraw or suspend provisionally all cases in which a Drager breathalyser test has been used to measure drivers’ blood/alcohol levels should not be viewed as just another way for drunk drivers to avoid penalties.

This advice comes from Helen Szemerei, CEO of insurance company IntegriSure, who says that South African insurance underwriters have become very vigilant in repudiating claims in a country where “drunk driving has become a socially acceptable practice”. (It's not just socially accepted - it's the national sport)

“The South African insurance industry does recognise the result of breathalyser tests,” says Szemerei. “A written statement from a traffic officer at the scene indicating that the driver appeared intoxicated may also be acceptable for some insurers to reject a claim.”

Some insurance companies go to great lengths to repudiate claims where alcohol involvement is suspecte..... (IOL)

There have been a number of questions about the German Drager machine’s reliability since its introduction more than ten years ago.

Its use was suspended in Gauteng in 2010 after a forensic investigator tested the Drager on 37 people and found that the results varied enormously, even when testing the same person twice. Among his concerns were that the Drager was affected by ambient temperature, so the results would vary if it was a cold night or a hot afternoon.

Rat Park: Addiction is a situation, not a disease

Thousands of studies have been done claiming that addiction is a disease, mostly by putting rats in a cage with some drugs and noting that they’ll repeatedly take the drugs, even if it means starving to death.

Bruce Alexander was skeptical about these results. He noticed that the rats in the experiments were stuffed alone in a boring cage with little else to do. “If I was strapped down alone in a cage,” he thought, “I’d probably want to get high too.”

So he built a rat park — a large, intricate, brightly-painted and heavily-padded structure to make the rats actually happy. He put half the rats in the normal cages and half in the park and gave both equal access to drugs.

The rats in the cage got addicted, while the rats in the park stayed away.

Then, even more strikingly, he took rats who’d had 57 days to get addicted to the drugs and took half of them out of the cages and put them in the park. The rats, even though they’d been addicted in the cage, suddenly stayed away from the drugs. They even voluntarily detoxed — trembling and shaking, but still staying off the drugs.

The top-shelf journals like Science and Nature rejected the study. It did end up getting published in a peer reviewed journal (Pharamacology, Biochemistry and Behavior, impact factor 1.5), but received little public attention. His university pulled the funding for the project. (from SciencethatMatters)

Citizens getting involved in Police work

Ho Ho Ho!!!!










A Tactical Cannabis

South African Police gardening and pruning service









Burning the evidence... job done I suppose? Medals and Noddy badges for everyone

Medical Cannabis research in South Africa.

(with thanks to Prof Charles Parry and David Bayever)

Die Russe se krokodil

Russia has the world's largest heroin taking population. Krokodil is a cheap heroin substitute for those who can't afford the real thing. (from the Independent)

Atlantis facing booze 'evil'

As the city’s Liquor Unit prepares to intensify its crackdown on illegal shebeens threatening the safety of women and children, one of the most troubled areas is waging its own war against the drinking establishments.

Atlantis residents say shebeens are destroying the West Coast town, with families who live nearby saying they have become dens of social evil, luring children as young as 12 to sell drugs.

Even legal shebeens, they charge, are resulting in a sharp reduction in property values.

Local ward councillor Barbara Rass has warned that the drive to encourage investment in the area could be scuppered by the introduction of more licensed shebeens deterring potential investors.

This week residents handed a petition to Rass to oppose the opening of another shebeen.

Rass submitted the petition to the local sub-council, which falls under Durbanville. She said the sub-council would hand the petition to the Liquor Board.

The city’s Liquor Unit said the area was one of the most problematic, along with Kraaifontein and Macassar.

Nathan Ladegourdie, assistant chief of the city’s specialised law enforcement services, said the unit started operating in Atlantis towards the end of last year. At that time, there were 148 illegal shebeens. Following a series of operations, 66 shebeens closed.

But Ladegourdie said there was still a stream of complaints from residents. He said across the entire city there were about 2 800 shebeens.

Atlantis resident Kenneth Rhodes said he and his family had been living in Atlantis for more than 20 years. A few years after they moved in, a shebeen started operating next door. When those tenants moved, the new owners applied for a licence for a shebeen.

Residents said they were told the application notice was published in local newspapers, but said they did not see it.

Now about 40 residents in the surrounding area have submitted a petition opposing the licensing of the shebeen.

Rhodes said he and his family were aware of the trouble associated with living near a shebeen. His wife, Denise, said the shebeen caused upheaval in the road.

“There were fights all the time. Our daughter, who was studying for matric, had to move out. When I came home, my driveway was always full of cars,” she said.

When new tenants moved in two years ago, they hoped the problems would be over, but Rhodes said they began to notice an increase in crime.

“People’s cars were broken into, things that didn’t happen before. Then we realised they were selling drugs.”

He said young children were working on the premises.

Another resident, Joyce Thomas, and her son, Jeff, live directly behind the premises.

Jeff said the new tenants had closed off sections of their yard with iron plates.

“It is against our property. They don’t even ask for permission. I’ve been to the police so many times about this, but nothing happens,” he said.

Joyce, who is 79, said she was unaware of any permission having been sought to open a shebeen on the premises.

“We are also paying rates here. Sometimes I can’t open my back door because of the smell of the drugs,” she said.

Ladegourdie said 99 illegal shebeens had been closed across the city between January and April. Fines amounting to R110 000 had been issued to shebeen owners during the same time period.

“The Liquor Unit is constantly attending to complaints in all areas throughout Cape Town, and will continue operations to address illegal shebeens. These operations will specifically be centred on complaints received from areas where women and children are adversely affected.”(from IOL)

NPA postpones all Drager cases

All court cases where evidence was obtained using the Drager breathalyser device have been provisionally withdrawn, the National Prosecuting Authority said on Sunday.

“The NPA is going to have all cases where the evidence was obtained using a Drager provisionally withdrawn or postponed, pending the Western Cape High Court ruling,” spokesman Mthunzi Mhaga said.

“The ruling will set a precedent... we are confident that the NPA has a strong case in favour of the Drager.”

The device measures the volume of alcohol vapour in a drinker's exhaled breath.

In the Western Cape High Court Clifford Joseph Hendricks is currently challenging the validity and accuracy of the Drager (SUBS: Umlaut on a) apparatus used during his arrest last year. His alcohol vapour count was 0.95mg. The maximum allowed is 0.24.

A Durban man was cleared of drunken driving this week after his lawyer challenged the law regarding the use of the breathalyser device, the Sunday Times reported.

The Durban Magistrate's Court found hotel manager Aveer Inderjith, 22, not guilty after the State failed to “produce any evidence regarding the instruments used”, according to court documents containing the ruling.

His lawyer Anand Nepaul was quoted as saying: “This was the first time I dealt with the legality of using that instrument to adduce evidence in court. The transport minister must sort the act out and get reliable equipment. You can't charge people where there is no law allowing the use of the equipment. First it has to be legal, secondly, reliable.”

Durban police spokesman Colonel Jay Naicker told the newspaper the city stopped using the Drager system in April, and was now using blood tests. (from IOL)

(The Drager is no more than a useful indicator someone is intoxicated. The problem is the police aren't allowed to take the blood required for the test to prove they're drunk: Not that I'd allow the police to take blood!)

Buying medical marijuana on credit?

A little-noticed move by American Express to ban the purchase of medical marijuana with its credit cards has reignited a longstanding debate: How much can a credit card company control what you buy?

To the surprise of consumers, major credit card companies are making decisions about what they can and can't buy with their credit cards. What's off-limits? Legal purchases like gambling chips and donations to at least one controversial non-profit organization; in some cases, buying pornography is also restricted, and so, increasingly, is medical marijuana. Last month, shortly before Delaware became the 16th state to legalize medical marijuana, American Express told merchants that its cards could not be used to buy it.

Companies say they're protecting themselves against legal risk, but critics say this kind of corporate policy is an inconvenience for merchants, infringes on consumers' rights and amounts to moral policy-setting. "You ought to be able to use a credit card for any legal purchase," says John M. Simpson from the non-profit Consumer Watchdog. "It seems to me that credit card companies are imposing their moral values on the world." (from SmartMoney)

Noose tightens on club, pub and restaurant owners

The finger of blame has finally been pointed at the owners of establishments who serve drinks as long as their customers have money to hand over and then wave them goodbye as they walk out the door with their car keys dangling from their hand.

Cape Town restaurants, pubs and clubs will be targeted by traffic officers if they routinely allow drunk patrons to leave their establishments and get behind the wheel, the Western Cape Transport Department has warned.

And today, as part of its LeadSA campaign, the Cape Argus publishes the list of names of the most recently convicted drunken drivers sentenced in Western Cape criminal courts. These names have been handed over to the provincial transport department by magistrate’s courts to be capture on the eNatis database.

This “Name and Shame” campaign is in partnership with the provincial government’s “Safely Home” campaign.

At the Brandhouse Responsible Drinking media awards last week, the Cape Argus won the print category for its contribution towards reducing drunken driving.

As the latest 58 names are published today, Western Cape Transport MEC Robin Carlisle announced that he was to ramp up the pressure against drivers who abuse alcohol. Now restaurant, shebeen, club and bar owners are in his sights.

Carlisle has called on owners of these venues “to take responsibility for those who drink at their establishments”.

“Every club, pub, shebeen or restaurant has a responsibility to help me to eliminate drunken driving,” said Carlisle.

“I am giving notice that I will, in the future, use roadblocks and other methods to target certain localities where people consume large quantities of alcohol.”

The MEC said he would give establishments “time to get their house in order before the onset of these roadblocks”.

But he warned that the roadblocks would start soon.

Until now, it has not been common practice for traffic authorities to target specific establishments, but Carlisle said this would now change.

“I do not accept a situation where people are plied with massive amounts of alcohol and the proprietor looks the other way when they stumble out the door to climb into their cars.

“As proprietors you are morally responsible to ensure that the person that gets drunk on your premises does not drink and drive, endangering their life and the lives of others.”

Carlisle said the roadblocks would be followed up by meetings with the owners of pubs and similar establishments at which he would explain what he believed to be their responsibilities.

Tourism MEC Alan Winde said of the plans: “I’m in support of this.

“It makes good sense for an establishment owner to intervene.”

He said owners not only had a moral obligation but “it makes good business sense for an establishment owner to prevent patrons from going out on to the road and driving drunk or, worse, hurting and damaging other people.

“I convened a meeting late last year between Fedhasa (Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa), big liquor producers and the taxi industry to discuss this.

“I envisage a restaurant going into a partnership with a transport company – it would be easy to work out a business model – and for a restaurant owner to be able to direct patrons to a taxi service, if necessary,” he said.

Winde added, however, that the primary responsibility would always remain with the drivers.

Fedhasa Western Cape’s Dirk Elzinga sounded a warning in response to the news: “The minister should not exaggerate. Responsible restaurants are already doing this – that’s what good restaurant and good bar owners do.

“Yes, there may be some ‘not-so-responsible’ owners who are not doing this, and we would have no problem with them (being targeted). But the minister should not be draconian against those who are being responsible.”

Winde cited the impact of “last drinks” campaigns in New Zealand and Australia, where law enforcement officers would find out where drunk drivers had been prior to their arrests and then investigate whether action could be taken against proprietors. (from IOL)

Scare story about tik from the Voice

Parents beware! Sly drug dealers may be targeting your kids with a new type of tik that is specifically made to be attractive to children.

Instead of the usual white grainy substance, this form of tik is pink and looks like children’s sweeties.

It’s even named Strawberry Quick because of its colour and texture - similar to powdered pink cooldrink or pop rocks that crackle in your mouth.

Drug experts and community workers warn that the new form of tik is just as addictive as the original and could be even more devastating to youngsters.

Strawberry Quick is said to be a cheaper form of tik because it is mixed with colouring.

The substance comes in different colours and flavours and is believed to be a hit on Cape Flats school playgrounds.

Narcotics experts tell the Daily Voice that kids are taking the drug thinking that it’s sweets and then fall ill.

Cape Flats residents who have heard about the drug say it’s been around since last year but has been kept quiet.

A community activist and Mitchells Plain resident says primary school children have become easy targets for Strawberry Quick dealers.

“People are talking about the drug but no one has gone to the police to report it to anyone,” says the concerned man.

“We first heard about it when it was used at a Mitchells Plain school, and since then nothing much has been done about it.

“However, primary school children are the easiest targets and drug dealers are getting them hooked so they can become addicted to the drug and from there they start stealing from their parents.”

Baronise Henry, from Mediator Strandfontein drug support and counselling group, says she initially thought it was a prank when she found the warning about Strawberry Quick in her mailbox.

“But then I contacted the South African National Council of Alcoholism and Drug dependence who confirmed that it is a poor quality tik that’s dyed with food colouring to make the drug more ‘kinky’,” she says.

But Baronise makes it clear that the drug is just as dangerous as its notorious relative.

Parents have been urged to warn their children not to take packets of sweets from strangers and to tell teachers if they are offered any suspicious substances at school.

Experts abroad - where the drug has been around for at least two years - say it tastes like strawberry and comes in a bright pink colour.

There are growing concerns that the younger crowd will find the drug more attractive because of the variety of colours and flavours it comes in.

And dealers cut the drug with battery acid and other harmful substances to make it go further.

Flavour and colour are added to the meth during the cooking process, instead of afterwards, which means the drug does not lose potency.

The substance can be ingested by snorting, smoking or injecting.

The drug is more popular among new users who snort it because the flavouring can cut down on the bad taste.

A US police official says the drug is particularity aimed at the younger crowd.

“If dealers can get younger people using it, they can get long-time buyers,” he says. - (Daily Voice on IOL)

Unnamed community member makes sensational claims about drug without evidence. Independent drug expert confirms claims having received an email from an unknown source. Finally, US drug official is quoted "as authority".

SAB launches "How to be a good drunk" program

Well it's not called that, but it's basically the same thing:
Twenty-five-year-old Sibusiso Chapi is one of 100 Umlazi men to participate in an R8-million project aimed at teaching men to behave better after a few drinks.

Chapi heard about the Tavern Intervention Programme for Men, known as TIP, at his favourite drinking hole, popular Umlazi tavern Max's Lifestyle.

The programme, led by SA Breweries in partnership with Men for Development in South Africa, includes workshops over six weeks to change men's beliefs and their behaviour towards women and children, to create awareness of HIV/Aids and to promote drinking responsibly.

Chapi yesterday said he wanted to change.

"I tend to become forgetful after a few drinks and end up giving my belongings to people I do not know. Just last week, I gave away my phone. I want to be responsible." (from Timeslive) (Too drunk to even know that someone stole his phone.... oh dear)

Caffeine poisoning hits 600 children.

The City’s Health Department is investigating how energy chewing gum, whose sell-by date had expired, landed up in the hands of more than 600 children who have been treated for possible caffeine overload.

On Tuesday Fisantekraal residents milled around the clinic next to the Trevor Manuel Primary School when children complained of stomach pains and headaches.

As the day progressed more and more children arrived at the clinic complaining of similar symptoms and were taken to hospitals across the city.

It is believed the Blitz Caffeine Energy Gum was dumped by a company on a farm in Fisantekraal, near Durbanville.

Some of Trevor Manuel Primary School pupils collected the dumped sweets and sold them to fellow pupils and other Fisantekraal residents for 50c a pack.

The schools’ principal, Edward Rasmus, said more than 600 of his pupils were affected.

He said the children all had similar complaints, which were primarily stomach and head pains.

“We can’t say it is the gum that caused it and we can’t say it isn’t,” Rasmus said, adding, however, that the chewing gum was the common thread.

“The concern is that the gum has been spread through the whole community, because the children who picked it up on the farm sold it everywhere,” he said.

Chantell Basson, who lives close to the school, was at the clinic when the first three pupils came in.

She said the two boys and a girl were crying and had severe stomach pains. One of the boys collapsed in pain.

“The nurses gave them glucose water and then more children came in with the same stomach cramps,” said Basson.

Yesterday the city’s Health Department director, Dr Ivan Bromfield, said the product was not meant to be consumed by children.

The gum’s packaging says that it is not recommended for children, pregnant or breast feeding women or caffeine sensitive people.

It also says that one pack is the equivalent of six energy drinks.

Bromfield said medical experts assumed that the children who were receiving treatment may have suffered a caffeine overload.

“We will be investigating how the product came to be on the farm and why the children had access to it,” he said

Laticia Pienaar, spokeswoman for Tygerberg Hospital, confirmed last night that seven girls and three boys were kept overnight for observation. She said they were in a stable condition, showed no signs of food poisoning and would be discharged later today.

The provincial Health Department’s medical rescue services confirmed they received the first call to attend to the children at 10am yesterday.

Metro Rescue’s Emergency Medical Service’s (EMS) Keri Davids said they transported 174 children, between the ages of seven and 14, to the Tygerberg and Karl Bremer hospitals and to the Kraaifontein, Delft and Elsies River community health clinics.

An EMS doctor also treated and discharged 419 children at the Fisantekraal clinic.

The children were treated for stomach cramps, headaches, lethargy and vomiting, Davids said.

Albert Ngetu, the father of 10-year-old Zandry Ngetu, raced to the clinic after she started vomiting.

A panicked Ngetu, said he had made Zandry drink milk after she had told him she ate the chewing gum.

“And then she started vomiting and couldn’t stop,” he said.

Police spokesman Warrant Officer November Filander confirmed this morning that they were assisting health department officials in tracing the origins of the expired chewing gum and that an inquest docket had been opened.

Disaster Risk Management spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes said it was not clear when laboratory tests on the chewing gum would be completed. (from IOL)

Cops raid Dagga Party leader's home

Police raided the home of the leader of the Dagga Party of South Africa, but all they found were a few seeds.

Jeremy Acton, whose party is registered in the Langeberg Municipality to contest the May 18 local government elections, said he was not at his Montagu farmhouse when police arrived early on Friday, but they questioned one of his workers and took him to the police station.

“They took all the pips and took photographs of my marijuana graphics and a poem I have for meditation.”

Acton, who was in Robertson at the time, said he wasn’t sure if a warrant had been issued for his arrest, but he wasn’t planning to return to Montagu until tomorrow.

Acton had taken his Dagga Party pamphlets to the police in Montagu and explained that he was fighting to get the herb legalised. He said he’d heard the police wanted to stop his efforts. (from IOL)

This raid is in contravention of Mr Acton's constitutional right to free political activity. Only a moron of a magistrate would sign a search warrant for a political party.

Zero alcohol limit proposal

Drivers in South Africa could soon be banned from drinking any alcohol at all before getting behind the wheel.

John Motsatsing, chief director of road transport regulation in the Department of Transport, said the government was seriously considering a zero alcohol limit for all drivers.

“Irrespective of how many drinks you’ve had, you cannot judge if you are over the alcohol limit, because you are not an expert,” he said. “So why can we not say no drinking at all if you are driving?

“We are going to do away with the alcohol limit. We are drafting a document and will put it out for public comment.”

At least 203 people were killed in road accidents during the Easter weekend, according The Road Traffic Management Corporation.

It is estimated that almost half of all weekend motor vehicle crash victims at public hospitals are injured as a result of abuse of alcohol.

In metropolitan roadblocks one in every 10 drivers tested is above the legal alcohol limit, according to the corporation’s Ishref Ismail.

The reports listed that 57 percent of drivers tested positive for alcohol in 2008, an increase of 16 percent from the statistics compiled in 2002.

The reports showed alarming growth in alcohol use by all road users, with an overall 6 percent increase by 2008 in the number of people who died in traffic accidents while they had alcohol in the bloodstream compared to 2002.

Robin Carlisle, Western Cape Transport MEC, said the plan was “bold and dramatic”, but “wishful thinking”.

He said while close to 700 people had been killed on the country’s roads as a result of drunkenness last month, the government needed to get the basics right first.

“The emphasis should be on those who drive drunk, not those who have a drink and drive.”

Caro Smit, director of South Africans Against Drunk Driving, said her organisation understood that it was difficult to have total zero but that they would support a 0.02 limit which allows some sort of reasonable leeway for measurement error – especially to avoid criminalising people for taking medicine like cough mixture.

“We feel strongly that the alcohol limit should be lowered drastically,” she said. “However, it is no use lowering the limit if authorities are not going to catch those who drink and drive… we still do not have enough testing…”

Alta Swanepoel, independent traffic and transport consultant, said a zero alcohol limit might be hard to police.

“We don’t have enough traffic officers to take on hundreds of people and charge them.” (from IOL)

How to stop smoking? Start taking pills!!!!

The first quit-smoking pill, designed specifically to stop the urge to light up, has arrived in South Africa.

Unlike the anti-depressant pill Zyban, which has side-effects that helped smokers quit, Champix is the first pill designed specifically to stop the urge for nicotine.

Over a 12-week cycle, the pill removes the desire for a smoking "high" by blocking the part of the brain that is satisfied by the effect of smoking.

Clinical psychologist and founder of the Society for Research on Tobacco and Nicotine, Dr Karl Fagerstrom, warned smokers of the dangers of their addiction at a media briefing in Johannesburg yesterday.

"One of every two smokers will die early," he said, adding that the problem was "more important than HIV or malaria".

Six million people worldwide die from smoking every year. In South Africa 31% of men and 9% of women smoke at least one cigarette a day.

Fagerstrom said smokers added to healthcare costs and spent less time working.

"They take more time out of their job to smoke and that is also a cost."

He said banning smoking in public places reduced the number of smokers.

"On average 4% of smokers give up [because of the regulations] and those who continue to smoke, smoke less."

The main effect of the legislation, he said, was to "denormalise tobacco culture". (from TimesLive)

A short history of the coffee drug.

They probably don't realise it, but a number of world leaders might benefit from learning something of the history of coffee before speechifying on narcotics and the law. The "war on coffee" is far older than Nixon's War on Drugs, but it proved equally ineffectual. For centuries, coffee was the subject of bans, controls and tariffs, religious proscription and noisy vilification. But it always crept back, smuggled through the ports, black marketed, cut with acorns or ground broad beans. Centuries of history only see it becoming cheaper and ever more available despite all attempts to control it. (from the Guardian)

A Rondavel

That is all...

















No deaths.... Just a Rondavel

125 South African smokers die A DAY!!!

About 125 of the 23% of South Africans who smoke die from the habit every day, the National Council Against Smoking said. This means a total of 44,400 deaths a year, said the council in a statement.

Reducing the prevalence of smoking from the 23% to 5% in the next three decades was possible. "But it will require an intensification of the tobacco control campaign. "In particular, the government will have to look at its tobacco taxation policies which are in urgent need of revision."

Global action a top priority

According to leading medical journal The Lancet, an urgent global action to cut tobacco use should be the top priority of government.

This would assist in the fight to reduce deaths from chronic diseases such as strokes, heart attacks and cancer.

A global team of scientists had proposed that the United Nations (UN) should aim for "a world essentially free of tobacco by 2040, where less than 5% of people use tobacco".

This recommendation would be made to the first UN High-Level Meeting of the General Assembly on chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) to be held in September 2011, The Lancet said.

The council said the meeting would provide the stage for powerful international action to develop, implement and fund actions against NCDs.

Every day, about 15,000 people die world-wide from diseases caused by tobacco.

"This rise is due to the tobacco industry's uncontrolled activities and persistent efforts to influence and weaken tobacco control policies," The Lancet said.

It added that key measures to prevent tobacco use were to raise tobacco taxes, place health warnings on tobacco packaging, smoke-free work and public places, a complete ban on all tobacco promotions, and control of illicit trade. (from News24)

South Africa's failed prohibition

The consequences of a policy, whether unintended or not, determine whether a policy has been successful or not. The South African government has adopted a one size fits all prohibitionist policy for "illicit" drugs and the results are in... We have a winner and the winner is.... Mitchells Plain. Well the children of Mitchells Plain to be more precise. The policy of prohibition has made drugs freely available to children. The policy of prohibition has resulted in all drugs being sold without regulation and freely on the street corners.... TO CHILDREN. This policy has produced the result of drugs being freely available to children - which is exactly what it set out to prevent.

Mitchells Plain: SA’s teen drug capital

DAGGA and tik remain the drugs of choice for school pupils in Mitchells Plain, with the most up-to-date research suggesting that dagga smoking in the area is so common that its prevalence is three times higher than the national average.

Worse still, the study revealed that substance abusers in Mitchells Plain were younger than their European counterparts, putting them at a much higher risk of developing drug dependency at an earlier age.

In addition, tik use was so prevalent in the area that its use now surpassed that of Ecstasy, cocaine and crack.

The study, conducted by Stellenbosch University and published in the SA Family Practice Journal, polled 400 pupils from 12 high schools in Mitchells Plain. It offers some of the most up-to-date statistics, pointing to an ever-growing problem.

Researchers found that at least 9 percent of all the pupils had used tik, while one in every 20 had used it during the previous year.

The prevalence for cannabis use was three times higher than the national prevalence rate of 10 percent, determined in 2007, the study showed.

But the statistics came as no surprise to those fighting drug abuse in the city.

The Cape Town Drug Counselling Centre’s Grant Jardine said that whenever drug use prevalence was studied in South Africa, Cape Town came out worst.

The new study also suggests that alcohol is the most common substance of choice among adolescents, with half of the pupils surveyed having consumed alcohol in their lifetime, and 34 percent having consumed it in the previous month.

The previous statistic reported for Cape Town was 31 percent.

Cigarette use was also highly prevalent, with more than double the number of pupils reporting having smoked cigarettes during their lifetime, when compared to pupils in the US and to South Africa as a whole.

The use of cannabis, for instance, was associated with the conversion of short-term memory into long term memory, cognitive impairment of comprehension and verbal recall, and mental illness – conditions that could lead to learning difficulties and ultimately to school dropouts.

“These potential learning difficulties apply to approximately 40 000 students in Mitchells Plain between the ages of 12 and 20 years, and may extrapolate into poor academic performance, school failure, school dropout, and a demand for additional learning resources,” said Hamdulay.

The use of illicit drugs was also associated with risky behaviour such as domestic abuse, risky sexual behaviour, carrying a knife and suicide attempts.

It was believed that cannabis was more popular in Mitchells Plain as it was easily available, inexpensive, easy to produce, and because the law prohibiting its use was not frequently enforced. (from IOL)

Cape Drug use at work soaring

An alarming number of companies in Cape Town are seeking help for employees who use - and in some cases even sell - drugs in the workplace.

The SA National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (Sanca) in the Western Cape has reported that about 100 companies had approached it over the past three years.

And a local labour law firm says about half of the 1000 companies on its books reported an increase in drug use at work.

The Medical Research Council (MRC) says it has also noticed an alarming spike in the use of drugs at Cape Town businesses and has commissioned a study to gather figures and information about the extent of the problem in the Western Cape.

Nadine Harker-Burnhams, an MRC scientist in its alcohol and drug abuse research unit, is heading the unit’s two-year study into drug use and the workplace.

Harker-Burnhams, who is doing her doctoral thesis on the subject, said although several firms faced the dilemma of employee drug use, there were no official numbers and also no national guidelines for dealing with the problem. The problem was not confined to any specific sector or career, she said.

Tertius Cronje, Sanca’s corporate services director, said there was a “dangerous upswing” in the number of employees using drugs at work.

“More companies are asking for assistance. More employees are using drugs at work, and even selling them there, using the workplace as a marketplace.”

Peter Schultz, chairman of the SA Association of Social Workers in Private Practice, said he had worked with firms from six sectors that were dealing with employees who took and sold drugs at work. Schultz would not disclose the type of industries, but said they varied.

He said telltale signs of drug use were frequent bathroom breaks, frequent latecoming, unexplained ailments and generally erratic behaviour, where the employee seemed “out of control”.

Both organisations said senior managers were more likely to use tranquillisers or cocaine, call centre agents tended to use stimulants and employees in labour-intensive jobs favoured tik. Employees in the sales sector were more likely to drink at work, they said.

Cronje said: “You would seldom find managers using tik and employees in labour do not have the money for the more expensive drugs.”

The organisations said it was easier to detect when employees were smoking dagga or drinking at work, because these had distinct odours and the change in users’ behaviour was obvious.

Drugs such as tik, cocaine and heroin were harder to detect.

Schultz said people used drugs in bathrooms at work or, in the case of managers, in their own offices.

Harker-Burnham said employees would also use drugs during lunch breaks, or just before they got to the office each day. She said the food and retail sectors had reported a recent increase in dismissals relating to drug use at work. The industries would not disclose figures, she said.

The MRC had also noted that some referrals for patients admitted to treatment centres came from employers, Harker-Burnham said.

She said several factors led to people using drugs at work, including stress and working in high-risk environments, such as those involving hazardous chemicals.

Employees who felt they were receiving “little reward with high demand” were also more susceptible to alcohol and drug abuse, she said.

Her study is set to start in the next two months and will focus on measuring the extent of drug abuse in Western Cape workplaces, as well as testing “evidence-based” interventions.

Ironically, Schultz said, in the short-term, employees using drugs could seem more efficient and productive, but their performance would soon take a “nose-dive”.

Grant Jardine, from the Cape Town Drug Counselling Centre, said companies had over the past three or four years become more aware of drug use in the workplace.

He said drug abuse was causing on-site accidents and contributed to high rates of absenteeism.

Advocate Lionel Harper, the head of the legal services department at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, said that in most cases companies could not force employees to undergo drug tests. They would first have to get an employee’s permission and that of the union.

“The employee cannot be compelled to undergo the test but refusal can lead to a negative inference. I would advise a policy on this matter so that the employees and unions are in agreement… because (substance abuse) impacts on the productivity and operations of the company and they are a danger and safety hazard to the employees.”

- Cape Argus

Legalise Soft Drugs

A call has gone out in the South African Medical Journal for a review of the legality of psychoactive substances such as marijuana (dagga).

Professor JP van Niekerk, managing editor of the journal, said it was important for South Africa to reopen the debate about the criminalisation of these substances, and to reconsider its policies in light of the fact that war against drugs in South Africa had failed.

It was time to face reality, the professor added, and rationally debate the question of decriminalisation.

“It makes no sense to legalise the use of alcohol and tobacco, but not the less dangerous substances like marijuana,” Van Niekerk argued.

He said that by decriminalising drugs there could be better control, and that the country could gain revenue from it through taxation.

He argued further that the role of criminal drug dealers could be significantly reduced.

Van Niekerk believes that improved state control, as is the case with tobacco and alcohol, could also be applied in the control of drugs in South Africa.

The high prices of illegal drugs, he said, often forced those dependent on them into criminal activities, including drug peddling and robbery, to finance their addiction.

On the other hand, he added, one of the reasons many people stopped smoking was because the price of tobacco was increased.

Controlling prices in this way was one of the mechanisms that could be used to manage the problem.

Van Niekerk said the way in which the drug scourge was being “fought” was actually making the drugs more valuable, and was attracting more participants to the illicit drug economy.

If they were decriminalised, he argued, drugs could be better controlled and the money saved could be used for education about the harm caused by drugs, and for the rehabilitation of addicts.

Van Niekerk said that while the use of drugs may be a vice, it should not be considered a crime - so making criminals of a large proportion of South Africa’s population.

“It is easier for youngsters to buy drugs than it is for them to buy cigarettes, because they would be asked for their ages. If the same could be done with drugs, then that would mean more difficult access to them,” he said.

When asked whether he believed the idea would work in South Africa, Van Niekerk answered that he did.

He added that evidence showed that the country’s current policies to fight the war on drugs were not working, with more and more people accessing drugs.

A recent study done by the SA Medical Research Council on drug abuse in the Western Cape showed that alcohol was among the worst abused substances, with Khayelitsha singled out as the area of the province where it was most abused. (from IOL)

Man arrested with R19 million Cocaine

A man was caught with cocaine with an estimated street value of R19m in Beaufort West on Thursday, Western Cape police said.

Police stopped and searched a yellow Volvo bus near a garage in the town shortly after 02:00, Captain Frederick van Wyk said.

Police sniffer dogs found a black bag in the luggage compartment. When police asked for the owner of the bag, one man tried to run away.

He was arrested and asked to open the bag. Inside police found several kilograms of cocaine.

In a separate incident police recovered dagga with a street value of R60 000 after they stopped and searched a cream-coloured Toyota Cressida on Wednesday evening.

Two men, aged 26 and 26, were arrested when six bags of dagga weighing 60kg were found.

All three men were expected to appear in the Beaufort West Magistrate's Court on Friday. (from News24)

Zuma confronts Mitchells Plain drugs saga

President Jacob Zuma has called for “concerted action” to deal with the abuse of alcohol and drugs in Mitchells Plain.

Zuma said in a speech at the Sultan Bahu Treatment Centre in Mitchells Plain on Tuesday that he was concerned that the abuse of alcohol and drugs was becoming a fashionable part of the lives of “some” children.

“Statistics indicate that the age of experimentation with drugs is nine years, which is way too disturbing,” Zuma said in the speech which was attended by Western Cape Premier Helen Zille.

“We have seen in some communities that some children drink alcohol on their way to school.

“This calls for concerted action amongst all of us as parents and community members. We must work together to curb the spread of substance abuse in our communities.”

Zuma said the government had a duty to build recreational facilities and improve the quality of life for communities, so that poverty did not breed the “proliferation of drugs and the abuse of other substances”.

“We are pleased to note action being taken by communities and individuals to fight substance abuse and educate our children and families.

Zuma said he was concerned about the high numbers of pregnant women who were abusing alcohol on farms in the Western Cape and parts of the Northern Cape.

“The impact on the unborn child is devastating,” he said.

Zuma said most in-patient treatment centres were not accessible to majority of patients and were found mostly in the cities.

“We therefore must find a way of extending them to rural and informal settlements, especially in the light of rising demand for treatment services,” he said.

“However, the out-patient treatment services are also available, and have ensured that patients receive treatment while remaining in their communities and families.”

- Sapa