Illicit drug use and treatment in South Africa: a review
SOURCE: Substance Use & Misuse
OUTPUT TYPE: Journal Article
PUBLICATION YEAR: 2010
TITLE AUTHOR(S): K.Peltzer, S.Ramlagan, B.D.Johnson, N.Phaswana-Mafuya
KEYWORDS: DRUG USE, DRUG USE, SUBSTANCE ABUSE, TREATMENT CENTRES
DEPARTMENT: Public Health, Societies and Belonging (HSC)
Print: HSRC Library: shelf number 6592
HANDLE: 20.500.11910/4023
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11910/4023
OUTPUT TYPE: Journal Article
PUBLICATION YEAR: 2010
TITLE AUTHOR(S): K.Peltzer, S.Ramlagan, B.D.Johnson, N.Phaswana-Mafuya
KEYWORDS: DRUG USE, DRUG USE, SUBSTANCE ABUSE, TREATMENT CENTRES
DEPARTMENT: Public Health, Societies and Belonging (HSC)
Print: HSRC Library: shelf number 6592
HANDLE: 20.500.11910/4023
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11910/4023
If you would like to obtain a copy of this Research Output, please contact Hanlie Baudin at researchoutputs@hsrc.ac.za.
Abstract
This review synthesizes available epidemiological data on current drug use and substance user treatment admissions in South Africa since 1994, and how changes in the political, economic, and social structures within South Africa, both before and after Apartheid, has made the country more vulnerable to drug use. Based on national surveys, current use of cannabis ranged among adolescents from 2% to 9% and among adults it was 2%, cocaine/crack (0.3%), mandrax/sedatives (0.3%), club drugs/amphetamine-type stimulants (0.2%), opiates (0.1%), and hallucinogens (0.1%). The use of primary illicit substance at admission to South African drug user treatment centers was cannabis 16.9%, methamphetamine (tik) 12.8%, crack/cocaine 9.6%, cannabis and mandrax 3.4%, heroin/opiates 9.2%, and prescription and OTC drugs 2.6%. An increase in substance user treatment admissions has increased. While the prevalence of illicit drug use in South Africa is relatively low compared to the United States and Australia, prevention and intervention policies need to be designed to reduce these levels by targeting the more risky subpopulations identified from this review.-
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