The Department of Social Development has dedicated this week to sounding an alarm on the pressing issues of alcohol and drug abuse among young people, during this Youth Month.
The department has dubbed this week the National Drug Awareness Week.
The primary objective of this initiative is to educate the public about the risks and hazards associated with substance abuse.
In a bid to effectively fight the scourge of drugs in communities, on the second day of the national drug awareness week, the department’s social workers visited the SAPS Forensic Science Laboratory in Pretoria.
“The department is trying to equip its therapists with every knowledge [so that they can] be able to assist families on how to identify drugs,” Siza Magangoe, the department’s chief director for anti-substance abuse and social crime.
The department said between the years 2003 and 2022, there has a been a significant increase of drug analysis cases, from 12 025 to 137 831.
On June 26 the department will commemorate the annual International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking under the theme People first: stop stigma and discrimination, strengthen prevention.
Aligned with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the International Agency Network for Demand Reduction, Drug Control, and Crime Prevention, this day aims to prioritise people’s well-being and reduce stigma associated with drug abuse.
Magangoe said the department was looking forward to working with the SAPS Forensic Science Laboratory in the fight against substance abuse. She further called upon South Africans to be careful not to discriminate against people and families who are affected by drugs.
“For an example, calling our children nyaope boys is not assisting in the fight against drugs. We need to use a better language, especially when we refer to children,” said Magangoe.
The forensic science laboratory is responsible for conducting drug research, analysis, testing, and the destruction of drug samples after cases are concluded by the courts.
Presenting on the work of the laboratory, SAPS’s Colonel Tshepo Shole said the laboratory has a chemistry section that conducts different types of analysis, including, amongst others, drug analysis, poison investigation and alcohol analysis.
Shole highlighted that the work of the laboratory is regulated by the South African Constitution and the Criminal Procedure Act 51/77, Drug Trafficking Act, 140/91 and Medicines and Related Substance Act 101/65.
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