Drugs Can Take Over

Previous page 24th July 2008

There are reports that parents have lost their homes and even pensions in their quest to save their children from this evil. Drug rehabilitation centres are very expensive and there are no guarantees that the addict will not relapse again.

Financial implications devastating
Parents who have the financial means are able to hire slick attorneys to suspend or squash charges (the addict invariably turns to crime such as shoplifting and housebreaking to get money for drugs) and whip their child off to the most expensive rehab centre to solve the problem temporarily.

Other parents, in desperation, take out huge loans from banks to finance rehab treatments and sadly, it has been reported that there are many "fly by night "centres which charge fortunes with very few long term success rates.

What if you don’t have the means?
To apply for financial assistance from the state is a total waste of time and energy, they don't have the funding or facilities to be of any help. So parents are simply hung out to dry.

Losing your child to drugs is almost as devastating as your child having been kidnapped. You have lost their minds. In their drugged state they are oblivious of what they are doing. The constant lies, deceit, manipulations and the endless disappointments spill over to their siblings which in turn causes further complications for parents.

No quick fix!
As one psychologist put it: " Everyone around the addict falls over first , while the addict carries on oblivious of anything going on around him/her, who after years of causing so much suffering for others, sometimes just pops off from an overdose".

There is no quick fix . Spending huge amounts of money on rehabs will not cure the addict. The addict has to be slowly reintegrated into normal society. The healing process does not take a year or two, it is a long process which has to be maintained for many years to prevent another relapse.

The integration process requires constant monitoring, huge support from (past badly wounded) family and friends and assistance from professional social workers and support groups.

Drug abuse self-inflicted?
Alcoholism has been declared an illness, yet drug addiction is considered to be self inflicted. Ultimately the blame does lay at the feet of the addicts as it was their decision to experiment with drugs which eventually led to their addiction.

However, consider the fact that most teenagers have experimented with alcohol at some stage during their adolescent years. Some became alcoholics, others became "social drinkers" (at varying degrees of consumption) and others teetotalers.

Dagga has been peddled at schools for at least a decade now. Come more addictive drugs such as mandrax, cocaine, heroin and the latest to flood school grounds, tik. Drug dealing is hugely profitable and kickbacks to those turning a blind eye is equally lucrative, especially under current difficult economic times as households struggle to keep their heads above water. It can only get worse.

Meanwhile their are young children (reports as young as 10) and teenagers who are experimenting with drugs and many are going to become addicts. The cycle continues with not much light at the end of the tunnel for helpless parents.

Support - where to find it?
There exists a small support group for parents in George, but not substantial enough to cope with the 600 (!) cases of drug abuse reported by SANCA (SA Council for alcohol and drug Abuse) in George over the past financial year.

Together with SANCA, a number of parents who have experienced these traumas and managed to cope and others who are still in the process of trying to cope are gathering to form a support group for parents where they can obtain information, moral support or assistance. The group hopes that the local authorities will also come on board to help rid our communities of the drug scourge.

How many people were aware of the fact that a few weeks ago it was national "Drug Awareness Week"? Government hardly made mention of it, so it appears that it does not feature high on government's agenda - it is then our duty, as tax paying citizens, to take them to task. Parents who want to get involved to either assist in starting or wish to join the support group, can e-mail your details and comments to davkorguest@telkomsa.net or phone SANCA at 044-8840674.

by KEN GIE