One threat eating at the foundation of SA'S future

TAddicts steal from their parents, neighbours and peers. Some sell their clothes for that next fix. Others can't keep their jobs or are expelled from school

he world over, young people represent hope for the future, or should do. However, we wonder what kind of future can be built on a foundation so full of young people wallowing in substance abuse. The Dispatch reported on Saturday how drug abuse tears families apart in the Eastern Cape. It is an understatement to say the picture looks grim. The provincial health department says their wards are full with patients some as young as 12 – who need help with substance abuse.

While urban areas remain the centres of drug abuse, the challenge is spreading to rural areas. The problem cuts across demographic lines like race, gender and social status.

Drug abusers are not only a danger to themselves but to their families and networks as well.

Addicts steal from their parents, neighbours and peers. Some sell their clothes for that next fix. Others can’t keep their jobs and young ones are expelled from schools as their devious behaviour escalates.

In our report, parents express the anguish of dealing with children who have become zombies and monsters.

One mother had two sons. One is now staying in a rural area with the hope for a change. The other took his life after the desperate mom sold her house to scrape together R80,000 for rehab.

Another mother saw no option but to open a case against her son after he almost killed them both. At least this young man caught a glimpse of the horror and checked himself in at rehab.

Help is available, but the hard reality is that many addicts lapse. One reason for this is that many times, hospital comes too late.

Another is that targeting the problem at the level of consumption is only a fraction of the battle.

Production and distribution cannot be shirked. Generally, people know the drug dealers in their neighbourhood but don’t report them. Perhaps they are afraid.

In cases when peddlers are reported, police are often reluctant to arrest them, or they buy their way out of the justice system.

If any inroads are to be made in fighting back this beast, it must be hit from all angles available. Legislators must come up with tougher laws for dealers,distributors and manufacturers. Residents must report the peddlers; police must round them up and work their way up through the ranks to the top of the syndicates. The criminal justice system must close its loopholes and punish them so that the crime is not worthwhile.

And parents? Love, attention, and vigilant, honest parenting – the kind that leads by example – may help many young people with building the inner defences they need.

Anything less just keeps taking us further down that dark road to a future hollowed out by addictive drugs.