Drugs in South African schools

What we discovered here at Eden Recovery Centre which is extremely interesting is that it’s not the shady man who is hanging around on street corners that is placing drugs into the hands of school-going children but rather it is the students themselves who are bringing drugs into South African schools and selling them to their fellow students.

According to research done by Anti-Drug Alliance South Africa showed that people are using drugs more than ever before and that around 69% of the teenagers who took part in the survey said that they could buy drugs from those who they attended school with.

Types of drugs in South African schools

The most common drug found sold in schools is dagga while cocaine and tik (methamphetamine) were also easily available. Nyaope use, a mixture of heroin and other substances, is another South African problem drug that is growing in popularity among those who are buying drugs at school.

Regular drug raids of schools is not enough to curb the increasing drug problem. Eden Rehabilitation Centre discovered through research that doing drug tests is another method that is being used to see which pupils are abusing drugs in an attempt to get children the help that they need. These tests will usually need to be approved by the parents of students who are suspected of taking drugs. But neither of these methods are 100% effective in preventing drugs from being used or sold in schools. Instead drugs use is thought to be on the rise schools and drugs continue to be sold to children of all ages.

Those who are found drugged at school or who are found in possession of drugs while at school will usually end up being expelled. Those who have been expelled end up staying at home because very few schools will want to accept them. This one act of adolescent stupidity, done because they didn’t think about their future and the consequences of their action, ends up compromising their entire future and can land them up in rehabilitation and the long road to recovery.

School children and drugs

Although you might have the mental image of a naughty teenager trying to be cool by making some extra cash through a drug sale, in South Africa drug sellers in schools have been found to be as young as 9. Sometimes these children are selling drugs that have been supplied by career drug dealers, on behalf of the dealer, while other times children have bought drugs to resell at school.

Why are children the most susceptible to drug use?

Some will say that it is because school children are easier to influence and their desire to fit in and be popular amongst their peers is their motivation for experimenting with the drugs that they will eventually become addicted to. Some argue that children from households that have drug abuse or alcohol abuse constantly see their parents taking the substances, and this results in the abusing of drugs being normalised.

Sometimes school children are unknowingly taking drugs when the innocent sweets they are buying end up being laced with drugs. Drug rehabilitation centres such as Eden Rehabilitation Centre in South Africa have reported such incidents and these children will either end up becoming addicted to the drugs that they have unwillingly absorbed or they will end up in hospital.

If you are concerned about your child or their accessibility to drugs at school, please contact us. We may be able to assist with signs to look out for, as well as advice on how to deal with the situation.

For information on Eden Recovery Centre’s Treatment Programmes and advice, please feel free to contact the Eden Recovery Centre. You can depend on full discretion.

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