War on whoonga gains second wind
Tighter laws will make it possible for those found in possession of whoonga to be fined, or face a jail term of up to 25 years.
The fight against whoonga and its Gauteng counterpart nyaope, has drawn renewed vigour from the Department of Justice’s announcement of an amendment to the Drugs and Trafficking Act, making it possible for those found in possession of the drugs to be fined, or face a jail term of up to 25 years.
Justice Minister Jeff Radebe and Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi signed an amendment of the act last week.
Whoonga, a highly addictive mixture of heroin, dagga, and rat poison, and in some reports, anti-retrovirals (ARVS), has become a major problem in KwaZulu-Natal.
The announcement comes after recent efforts by the city to ‘clean up’ what is considered the epicentre of the whoonga trade in Durban, a patch of land between the train tracks and the M4 highway in the inner city known as Whoonga Park.
City officials visited Whoonga Park (officially known as Albert Park) last week, announcing a plan to establish a rehabilitation facility as part of efforts to help hundreds of the city’s whoonga addicts.
The intervention is part of the municipality’s Qalakabusha or ‘new start’ initiative and will focus on the homeless and the marginalized who frequent Whoonga Park.
I wish the police would also look at Freedom Park between Umbilo and Gale str. We seem to have an influx of vagrants living in the broken down building by the Mahatma Ghandi Memorial they are an eye sore and bring an unsavoury element to an allready plagued area!!!