The nyaope epidemic in SA reminds me of high school days. I did not know anything about the use of drugs and other harmful substances by then. There were schoolmates who smoked cigarettes and weed behind the school toilets in the morning.
To this group gathering behind the toilets, it became a daily routine, despite the stink of the long-drop latrines. This shows that the problem of substance abuse among SA teens did not start with nyaope.
Research shows that substance abuse among SA youth starts much earlier, and heightens during high school. Research data points to peer pressure being a key factor in substance abuse among teens.
Drug abuse trends in the youth population has reached deadly and debilitating levels thanks to nyaope, the black tar heroin also known as whoonga in other parts of the country. This drug arrived in SA as recently as 2009, and yet its effect are already threatening the whole generation of youth.
It has now been rated as the most dangerous illegal substance destroying the future of the big number of teenagers and young men and women in mostly black communities. It is not only destructive for the education prospects since majority of nyaope users quit schools, it also affects their mental ability. Nyaope also impacts physical and moral development of its users, leading to a life of crime and excruciatingly painful health conditions and premature ageing and death.
This drug and its consequences are clearly targeted at poor black youth, without a clear plan of intervention by the authorities. How can a significant portion of our population be allowed into an existence of psychotic "norms" of people who sleep while standing and eat while sleeping? What other evidence is required to see that nyaope is a menace to society and yet nothing is done about it?
The streets and public parks in the townships are packed with future doctors, teachers and lawyers trapped in the vicious cycle of the hopeless life of nyaope. The drug has taken away their ability to acquire knowledge and skills, turning our youth to hopeless urchins who beg and steal for their survival at the mercy of this evil drug.
All the blame should be put to our government who fail to protect the nation, including its children, from all forms of harm threatening their safety. It's like there's a mission to satisfy the needs of the drug lords, who many citizens are adamant that they are foreign nationals living in SA. If this is a malicious claim, let the authorities bring out the evidence to the contrary.
Our country is corrupt and it will not be fixed until war against crime and disorder is declared by the state. We may have a million rehabilitation centres in the country, but if the government does not do anything to protect its citizens against harmful practices, including the trade in illegals drugs, we will remain the losers that we have become to lawlessness.
The same inaction against the crimes that devalue us as a nation can be seen with rape and gender-based violence. No proper action is being taken by the state to end these societal maladies, despite the anger of the nation.
The national department of social development in partnership with the SA Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag) has been running a 24-hour substance abuse helpline for over 10 years to help those with drug problems. The service is just a waste of government resources.
SA seems to have abandoned its drug prohibition laws and until that shortcoming is corrected with unambiguous law enforcement, no helpline will save us. We need leadership.
• Makamedi is a Sowetan reader
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