Drug abuse is everyone’s problem, warns social worker

A social worker who has worked extensively with drug addicts warns that recreational drug use cuts across the board, affecting young and old of all races.

This was revealed by clinical social worker Ross Antony from the SA National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (SANCA) in Southernwood, KuGompo City.

“It cuts across the board,” Antony said, explaining that it was not only youngsters that were abusing drugs, even professionals dabbled.

Antony said one of the biggest problems affecting society was that people were not informed about the drugs they took.

Once people got to the addict stage, they did not see themselves as having a problem.

Rehabilitation services to address their plight were expensive and some users became a thorn in the side of their families and communities, involved in crimes for cash to buy their next fix, Antony said.

“Some start using drugs at the age of 11. The problem is you are sometimes lured and think you’ll use it once but end up being addicted.

“It’s a big problem.

“It depends on each substance how quickly one gets addicted to a drug.

“The drugs target the brain, where you find that it affects the memory.

“This becomes a problem for a child who is in school; it [can] lead to disorders like bipolar depending on the biological makeup of a person,” Antony said.

The department of social development has suspended Ngwako Kgatla, the special adviser to minister Sisisi Tolashe, after findings by the Public Service Commission (PSC). The department confirmed Kgatla’s immediate suspension on Wednesday. It said Kgatla would remain on full pay while investigations continue. “Mr Kgatla is suspended with full salary while the department commits to investigating and finalise this matter,” it said. The department said the decision follows findings contained in a PSC report relating to irregularities in the appointment of Tolashe’s former private secretary, Lesedi Mabiletja. The PSC previously found alleged collusion, fraud and forgery linked to Mabiletja’s appointment in Tolashe’s office. The commission also found Kgatla and Tolashe’s former chief of staff Zanele Simmons manipulated information regarding Mabiletja’s qualifications and experience. The Daily Maverick previously reported Kgatla was Mabiletja’s uncle. The department views the alleged misconduct seriously as it remains committed to handling and finalising the investigation process by following due investigation processes and ensuring fairness PSC chairperson Somadoda Fikeni told parliament’s portfolio committee on social development last week the investigation uncovered manye violations in the appointment process. The PSC found then 22-year-old Mabiletja did not possess the required qualifications or experience for the position and had misrepresented information on her CV. In advice to the minister, the PSC said disciplinary action should be considered against Kgatla. “The PSC advises the minister considers taking disciplinary action against Mr Kgatla for incorrectly reflecting on Ms Mabiletja’s CV that she had three years’ public service experience as a volunteer in the office of the deputy minister, assisting the deputy minister’s private secretary, whereas Ms Mabiletja never reflected the information on her CV when she submitted the CV to Mr Kgatla,” it said. The PSC further recommended the matter be referred for investigation into possible fraud linked to the SmartGov recruitment system. “In light of the director-general’s suspicion of fraud, it requests the Special Investigating Unit and/or the Information and Communications Technology Sector Education and Training Authority (ICT Seta) to investigate the submission process on the SmartGov System to determine whether fraud occurred when the submission was approved, and if so provide guidance on the implementation of control mechanisms to prevent a recurrence,” the report said. The department said Kgatla’s suspension would allow for a full investigation into the PSC findings. It confirmed disciplinary proceedings are also being initiated. “The department views the alleged misconduct seriously as it remains committed to handling and finalising the investigation process by following due investigation processes and ensuring fairness.” TimesLIVE

He said users tended to protect where they bought their drugs from.

“They protect their suppliers in fear of being harmed because the people who sell these [drugs] are very dangerous.”

He said they were aware they existed, but to know who was selling was difficult.

“We work with people who are very economical with the truth.

“Sometimes one comes in citing [dependency on] one drug and upon testing, many other drugs are found in the system.

“It’s everybody’s problem.

“We have professionals that are using it. It’s not just children or certain races,” Antony said.

It could take up to 10 days to flush drugs out of a person’s system, he said, adding that any detoxification programme should be followed by psychosocial support.

His organisation runs outreach programmes in schools and churches that raise awareness and teach people about the dangers of drugs.

“Many are unaware of substance abuse. Some people trivialise our job by saying many have drunk or smoked before and it can’t be detrimental ... .

“When we visit [some] areas, we discover there is a stigma attached to going to rehab centres and there are many stereotypes which we try to dispel.

“One of the challenges we are confronted with is parents who associate any mental health disturbance with a spiritual calling or bewitchment, and [the affected] are taken to a traditional healer who will charge them, while the problem continues.

“The next step after addiction is death.”

Antony said instead of saving a life by getting the drug user into rehab, their life was lost.

“Our society is faced with a pandemic when it comes to substance abuse,” he said.

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