Fight against drugs intensified
Dagga remains the most used drug on the streets
Dagga remains the most used drug in the streets, accounting for just more than 60 per cent of all substance abuse treatment cases,” said Mayor Herman Mashaba.
The CoJ has therefore decided to do something about the scourge of drugs affecting some of the poorest and most vulnerable communities by hosting an Anti-Drug Summit.
“South Africa has twice the global average of substance dependency and is number one in Africa. The main drugs abused by South Africans include dagga, cocaine, tik, mandrax, nyaope, codeine, ecstasy and heroin,” said the Mayor.
The overall objectives of the Anti-Drug Summit are:
• The establishment of new partnerships and strengthening of existing partnerships to improve inter-sectoral collaboration with multi-disciplinary stakeholders with vested interests in the prevention of substance abuse and treatment processes• The launch of the CoJ Integrated Strategy on Substance Abuse Prevention and Treament• The launch of the CoJ Local Drug Action Committee • Contributing to a reduction in the demand, harm and supply as prescribed by the National Drug Master Plan.
During the summit, it was said that although many sectors have tried to address the problem through prevention programmes over the years, the absence of a comprehensive Integrated City Strategy has caused these programmes to fail.
The CoJ has partnered with the South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependency (Sanca) and the American Community Anti-Drug Coalition on an integrated, community-based and community-driven programme of action.
The summit included contributions from other key role-players in the CoJ, including the Departments of Public Safety, Health, Development Planning, Community Development, Social Development and Economic Development.
“The main focus of the summit was on building an integrated strategy aimed at supply reduction, demand reduction and harm reduction,” the mayor said.
He concluded by saying, “Ultimately, the aim is to initiate a platform for the establishment of an inter-departmental and inter-governmental movement to address the drug problem and to ensure no young person is left behind.”
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