“Don’t go there,” is the advice of four teenagers who spoke about the reality of teenage drug abuse in Springs.
The Addie interviewed these teens with the help of Henry Harber of the Wild Wild Guardians, who assisted three of them to get clean.
The fourth teen is currently struggling with nyaope withdrawal symptoms.
All four teens, who live in Springs, say their drug abuse began with the friends they had.
It started with smoking marijuana at social gatherings on weekends and escalated to bunking school each day to do drugs.
They would do this in large groups of up to 50 people.
Everyone in the group shares the drug of the day, but every person gets a turn to make plans to get money for buying the next round.
To get money for drugs they would send the girls or younger children to beg, flirt and ask people for money or they would steal anything they can lay their hands on to sell.
Other methods used to get money are to bully someone or to steal either drugs or money from other drug users.
The teenagers say using drugs causes you to lose everything you have – family, good friends, and self respect.
You also learn to steal what belongs to other people and sell everything you own.
“You always look around for an opportunity to take something,” says one of them.
They also say they learned to lie about their whereabouts, especially to their parents.
The teens say, depending on what kind of drug you use, they make you talkative, you become brave, you are in a happy mood and you experience an increased sexual drive.
“But it takes away all of your self respect,” they say.
They say a “druggie” either loses or gains weight, depending on the substance used.
Signs of someone using drugs include aggression, a lot of fights between the user and the people who care for him and rapidly changing moods.
A physical symptom can be seen in the child’s eyes because drugs cause dilated pupils.
The children each tell their own story.
Chantel van Wyk* (16) says she was 15 when she met her boyfriend, aged 21, at a pub in Springs.
This is the pub where her friends used to gather during weekends and school holidays.
Chantel started using the drug CAT shortly after she and her boyfriend started going out.
At first it only happened over weekends but then escalated to twice a week and then to daily drug use.
She says she used to bunk school each day and knew exactly where to escape out of the school yard.
Chantel and her friends used to leave their school bags at a shop before going to a flat close to the school where they would spend their days.
It was in this flat, where a mother and her daughter were living, that the group of drug users made plans on how to get money for their drugs.
These drugs were delivered to the place and they got high instead of being at school.
“My parents used to think I am at school while I was in this flat snorting CAT for days,” she says.
Kelly Clark* (17) was 16 years old when she had to go live with family due to circumstances.
Her cousins with whom she lived taught her to smoke marijuana.
“I kept on using it because it makes you happy,” she says.
Like Chantel, she also had a boyfriend of 21 years old who introduced her to harder drugs.
She left school and her family to live with him, but after a few months they broke up.
She had nowhere to live and started using CAT and crystal meth while living on the streets.
On the streets she became part of a large group of young people who used drugs in an enclosure behind a shopping centre.
She would either stay awake for days while using the drugs or sometimes she would sleep over at the
home of one of the children in the group.
Kelly says she saw many ugly things in this group such as girls selling themselves for drugs.
She also had a friend who attempted to sell her to Nigerians for drug money.
She says she lost a lot of weight because she never ate any food during the time she was with the group.
Ansie Viljoen * (16) was 14 when she met her 16-year-old boyfriend in a pub in Springs.
Together they used marijuana and alcohol until someone spiked her drink and raped her one day.
She says the pain of what happened to her caused her to turn to harder drugs such as CAT and crystal meth.
She also bunked school and everything got out of hand because of her drug abuse.
Barry Groenewald * (17) currently has difficulty getting rid of the nyaope withdrawal symptoms and cravings.
He will go for rehabilitation soon and cannot wait to be free.
Barry started with marijuana and escalated his abuse to the use of nyaope, which is a chemical concoction smoked in a joint (marijuana cigarette).
He left school in October last year, shortly after he started using nyope.
Before this he smoked marijuana and used other drugs for more than 18 months.
He says getting rid of nyaope, or thai as it is also called, is very difficult.
He has terrible pains in his body and cannot sleep when the substances wear out.
Only a joint can give him relief.
He says the nyaope has a good “kick” and you feel as if you are floating, but only for 30 minutes.
To smoke it costs about R50 for one of two smokes and you always need money to sustain the habit
Anyone who needs help in combating a drug abuse problem may call the Wild Wild Guardians on 079 017 2070.
* Not their real names
