Children in all the schools of Springs are exposed to drugs.
This says Henry Harber of the Wild Wild Guardians, who assists teenagers who are caught in the trap of drugs.
He says drug abuse is not restricted to a certain type of person or household, but can occur in any home and at any school.
He also observed that most of the Springs drug dealers’ homes are close to the schools from where they get most of their “business”.
Harber and his wife Margie started getting involved in the lives of teenage drug abusers a few years ago.
He says as a biker he always went to breakfast runs creating awareness about drug abuse, but became deeper involved when one girl asked for help.
He and Margie already helped about 20 teens in the past 18 months.
Most of these children who are all under 18 years came clean and went back to school and their families.
He calls this group of recovered teenage drug abusers the Little Wild Wild Guardians.
These teens help the Wild Wild Guardians to reach out to the children the group is working with or to detect drug problems at their schools.
He explains that drugs is the social norm for some teenagers of today.
He says when he was young alcohol was the preferred “drug” of that time.
His parents could smell the alcohol on him, but drugs have no odor on its user, making it difficult for children to realise whether their child is doing drugs.
Harber says a full recovery from drugs is possible when the child asks for help at a young age.
He says children are now starting to use drugs from a very young age because existing drug users get free drugs when they recruit one of their friends to buy drugs.
An older drug user will take children between 12 and 15 years old under his wing and give them guidance to make sure the child gets the substances for him.
Young girls are also a target to be “recruited” into a drug group because people are more likely to give money to them.
These girls or children most of the time have to steal something and sell it to get money for drugs.
They also beg or ask people for the money.
Harber says there are rarely people older than 35 using drugs in Springs.
It seems as if the heavy drug abuse among teenagers started at least five years ago in Springs because he regularly finds young people of 20 to 25 that have been using drugs for years.
The problem is that a drug user always needs something stronger and the damage to the abuser’s body and life escalates the longer he uses the drugs.
