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