‘I spent R500 a day on whoonga’ – drug addict tells all
'I want to kick this thing now. This animal is eating me.'
THIEVERY, fights and schemes are all part of the daily life of one whoonga addict from Empangeni.
Major, a 20-year-old man from Ngwelezane, came forward to tell his harrowing tale of addiction and the life of a whoonga user.
‘I wake up every morning, and this animal inside my stomach is eating me,’ he said.
‘It burns and hurts until I can smoke whoonga, then the pain goes away.’
Major, who dropped out of high school in Grade 11 lives with his mother and sister, both who work low income jobs.
‘I would steal from shops to get money to buy whoonga. Most days I would spend R500 to R600 rand to get it.’
He would mix the drug that he buys for R20 a packet with dagga and tobacco from cigarettes.
‘I get the drug from any taxi rank or in town. If I am in Richards Bay, I go to the rank to buy whoonga. If I am in Empangeni town, there is a guy who sells there.’
The availability of the drug extends much further than only taxi ranks, and Major’s story confirms how easy it is for users to get their hands on it.
Minutes before he came to the ZO offices in Empangeni with representatives of Souls for Life, an NPO that addresses social issues among the youth, Major was smoking whoonga.
His eyelids were drooped, his reactions very slow. He does not feel invincible when he smokes. He only feels tired all the time.
Last week, Major and his friends were chased and beaten by irate taxi drivers who felt the addicts and drug dealers were responsible for the crime spike that have their clients seeking alternative transport depots.
Now, he wants to kick the habit. And so do many of his friends.
