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Buying illegal medication in some spaza shops in KuGompo City proved to be as easy as uttering two words: “Ndithenga iyeza (I would like to buy medicine)”.
This was all that was said by a Daily Dispatch and Go!& Express team in one spaza shop in Duncan Village.
The money was extended to the shopkeeper through an opening in the steel protective mesh.
He foraged out of sight and in seconds came up with a 100ml bottle of AstraPain Syrup (registration 27/22,0139), though it was discreetly wrapped in paper.
He handed it over in exchange for R65 for medicine usually prescribed for children aged six to 12 to relieve mild to moderate pain associated with fever.
The drug contains paracetamol, codeine phosphate and promethazine hydrochloride.
The team had just bought a schedule 2 drug, which, by law, must be dispensed by licensed pharmacists, preferably on prescription by a doctor.
Schedule 2 drugs all come with a warning that there is a risk of “dependency” — addiction.
The directions for use strictly warn against exceeding dosages of 5ml three times a day for children aged between two and five and 5ml to 10ml three times a day for children aged six to 12.
Yet, according to a number of sources spoken to in the course of this report by the Daily Dispatch in partnership with GO! & Express, youths are getting high on AstraPain, downing two to three bottles, mixed into a 2-litre bottle of cold drink.
It is a well-known “secret” in the area that the shop sells illegal medication.
Nearby, in Pefferville Township, we walked into a corner house.
An empty AstraPain bottle lay outside on the street.
The house was empty, but at the back was a small shack where we were able to buy another bottle of AstraPain.
Sources told us the shack was a well-known drug den, and sold the tranquiliser Xanax as well as other codeine-based cough syrups.
We were told the Xanax was sold out, but we could return later in the day when there would be stock.
We were able to buy medication from 22 illegal vendors across the metro in Qonce, Bhisho, Zwelitsha and KuGompo.
We bought what were sold to us as Adco-Dol painkillers, also a schedule 2 drug, as loose pills for R2 each — no packaging, no dosage instructions, no side-effect warnings.
Adco-Dol contains paracetamol, codeine phosphate, caffeine and doxylamine succinate.
One trader in Qonce offered pills in bulk — clearly believing we would be wanting to sell them on — saying we should return when no-one was there.
Not once were we questioned about our purchases. We asked, they supplied, and we paid about R700 in total.
However, the most concerning discovery was the unrestricted sale of Adco-Dol, which carries a risk of dependency if misused.
Adco-Dol tablets were all sold loose, but prices varied from R2 to R5 each, and they would often only be sold in doubles.
There was no sign of the legally required original packaging, dosage instructions, expiry dates or batch information.
Conditions in many of the shops also raised red flags.
We saw the drugs stored in hot, poorly ventilated structures — a further breach of national pharmaceutical laws.
Many of the shops were containers, or cinder brick with few or no windows and poor ventilation, and rooms were hot and stuffy.
Schedule 2 drugs are required to be securely stored under lock and key in their original packaging, in a cool, dry, well-ventilated facility.
In hot, humid conditions, these medications can degrade.
There was no question of paperwork — definitely no receipts.
One employee said most shops got their medicines from suppliers in Qonce.
His boss bought pills from “a big shop” he described as a warehouse.
“They also stock cigarettes,” he said.
Authorities have warned that these drug sales are unlawful and dangerous.
“While the SAPS is not the lead authority on pharmaceutical regulations, we play a vital role in supporting law enforcement efforts,” Eastern Cape police spokesperson Nobuntu Gantana said.
“The SAPS often assists in joint, multidisciplinary operations focusing on illicit goods, working alongside the department of health, law enforcement agencies and the SA Revenue Service.”
Gantana said police had yet to receive a formal complaint about these illicit sales, nor had a docket been opened.
“Members of the public are encouraged to report such activities.
“At the same time, we also need public health education. We are not investing enough as a country.
“We are not informing the public what it is that they should be able to access from pharma shops and open shelves in terms of medication and what they cannot access there,” she said.
A teenage boy in the area demonstrated how people diluted AstraPain into a 2l soft drink to create a potent mixture.
He took the team to Ndende in Duncan Village, where a shop was selling the medicine.
Using a 2l bottle of soft drink, he emptied some out, then poured the entire 100ml of the codeine-based syrup into it.
Within seconds, the clear drink turned a deep purple.
“There were no questions asked. I just said ‘ndithenga iyeza’.
He said users often combined the mixture with other substances to intensify the effect.
“Most people boost their high by smoking nyaope or dagga. Some add Xanax,” he said.
The consequences, he said, were visible the next day.
“Most people wake up in the morning with swollen faces.”
He said other products, such as Stilpane, a painkiller containing codeine, and Alcophyllex, a cough syrup containing theophylline and diphenhydramine, were also popular.
“They find ways to get Xanax from pharmacies around town because the word on the street is that Stilpane and Alcophyllex are not as strong as they used to be,” he said.
“So they try to boost it.”
Daily Dispatch