An anonymous user in Bela-Bela reached out to The Post recently to raise his concerns regarding the danger of this process.
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He was the victim of smoking a cannabis product that was allegedly laced with cocaine, he told the newspaper. In 2018 the constitutional court made a ruling that cannabis users are exempt from prosecution if they cultivate their own product and consume the cannabis in private.
The selling of cannabis is still illegal and dealers can face jail time. The anonymous source said that cannabis mixed with other hard drugs is more addictive and will prompt the user to obtain more on a regular basis. This could lead to a lifestyle of crime to feed the habit and may inevitably lead to death.
“My concern with the legalization of consumption of home grown products but not distribution, is that there is a false sense of security driving demand. This is fine if a person chooses to consume THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) found in cannabis. It remains their right to consume the drug, but it is not the case if the cannabis is laced with class A substances without their prior knowledge.”
He said that on numerous occasions he bought cannabis from sources in the town’s central business district. He became aware of a change in health and also behavioural patterns after smoking the drug.
“I became weary of this change and decided to test the spliff I had bought with a regular drug test kit. I was shocked to find that the cannabis product contained cocaine.” “I went back to the dealer and bought another batch, which I tested once more and to my surprise, I found that this batch contained methamphetamine. I have been smoking cannabis for many years, so I know the typical mood I should be in. I was anxious, sick, depressed and craved to smoke more after smoking the one with cocaine,” he said. “I know that the consumption of any narcotic substance is frowned upon by many, but we cannot deny that this is happening in our midst. The public, visitors and especially our youth are at risk!”
He further stated that the youth is likely to experiment with cannabis, but unbeknown to them they can be subjected to hard core drugs. It is still unclear if the supplier is local or a foreigner.
“The law allows us to grow cannabis plants and smoke the leaves at home, but hard core drugs are sold openly everywhere. It is the youngsters I worry about; those who might end up hooked on something far worse than THC. I have vowed to only smoke what I have grown myself after this narrow escape.”
The Bela-Bela police has taken note of these allegations. * According to information obtained from Houghton House Rehabilitation Centre in Johannesburg the effects of each known drug varies in different countries.
Cannabis is known to cause side-effects like paranoia, anxiety, hallucinations and psychosis when doses are consumed. It can also lead to memory loss, confusion, lack of attention and loss of perception, according to experts at the Centre.
Cocaine, which can be smoked in crystalized form or snorted, gives the user a sense of euphoria and extreme focus, but is accompanied by aggression and violent behaviour as a side-effect.
Death is often the end-result. The complete list of inconsistent behaviour associated with drug users, as well as the helpline can be found on their website: houghtonhouse.co.za(.)
Baie dankie aan André Kock en Seun sonder wie se hulp die plasing van dié aanlynberig nie moontlik sou wees nie.
