Painkillers - a drug that could lead to self-destruction

After spending years trying to track down her son, Ma Onika finally discovered Sibusiso in an empty shack in the Western Cape lying on a mattress waiting for his dealer. She suspected that he was waiting for cocaine or tik, which research has shown one in five children in the Western Cape are on, until he told her he was waiting for a delivery of Oxycontin, a drug prescribed to treat chronic pain. Ma Onika was shocked that Sibusiso, who had periodically been prescribed the drug when he was growing up, such as when his wisdom teeth and tonsils were removed, was now an addict.

As part of the Government Employees Medical Scheme's (GEMS') ongoing effort to educate our members and future members on a range of healthcare topics, we would like to alert you to the dangers of drugs. This article explores the subject of drug abuse among the youth for Youth Day on 16 June and South African National Council on Alcoholism & Drug Dependence (SANCA) Drug Awareness Week, 24-28 June.

Addiction
Sibusiso, 28, is part of the millennials, the generation comprising of children born between 1982 (some say 1980) and 1995 to the late baby boomers. According to recent research, millennials use and abuse alcohol and prescription drugs more than street drugs.

After discovering Sibusiso, he asked Ma Onika to take him to see their doctor who he hoped would help. Their doctor explained that, while many people think that prescriptions drugs are harmless, they can become dangerous if abused.

OxyContin can become addictive when it is taken incorrectly. For example, when instead of taking the slow release tablet that releases the dose over 12 hours a person injects or snorts it. According to We Do Recover, "this releases a great deal more of the active ingredient than the manufacturer intended altering the chemicals in the brain and the person starts to seek more of the drug in order to obtain the sense of euphoria they associate with it. In high doses, overdoses, or in patients not tolerant to opiates, oxycodone can cause shallow breathing, bradycardia (a slow heart rate), cold, clammy skin, apnoea, hypotension, pupil constriction, circulatory collapse, respiratory arrest, and death."

For many people it is also a ‘gateway drug' - the first step on the road to more addictive and dangerous drugs that are currently plaguing South Africa, such as "whoonga" - a potent and highly addictive mixture of marijuana, heroin, and, Antiretroviral (ARV) medications or Nyaope, a mixture of dagga, heroin and talcum powder.
 
Sibusiso has since been booked into a drug rehabilitation centre and is undergoing treatment to get him clean and free of the emotional and psychological prison of misery and anxiety that accompanies his addiction.

South Africa's drug problem
Drug abuse has become a major problem among South Africans. According to the Anti Drug Alliance's 2012 annual survey, one in three middle-class South Africans use an illegal substance for recreational purposes. The alliance found that dagga, nyaope tik and cat use was increasing, with the latter two growing significantly. Addicts feel like they cannot continue living without such drugs and will do anything to get them. Some people are so addicted that they become involved in more and more dangerous and illegal activities to help pay for their habit. For many individuals becoming addicted to a drug can lead them to look for greater ‘highs', which means that they need to use more or stronger kinds of drugs.

Other risks
There are other risks associated with taking drugs. Pure drugs are expensive and it is for this reason that so many dealers mix or ‘cut' them with less expensive substances. Some of these substances can be more dangerous than the drugs themselves and there have been a number of instances of people dying from them. Keep in mind that you can never be sure what a drug contains.

Peer pressure
Peer pressure, easing boredom and coping mechanism are some of the most common reasons youth mention for taking drugs.  They experience boredom or stress in their lives, start experimenting with drugs and become addicted. Some experience problems at home such as violence or abuse and want to ‘escape from it all'. 

Young people are also more easily influenced by their friends to do things they might not otherwise do such as try drugs. They desperately want to fit in with their group and will do anything to impress their friends. Remember that nobody starts taking drugs because they want to become addicted. Rather the drug takes over their life and they struggle to live without it.

Drug addicts can be helped
Drug addicts can be helped to overcome their addiction, even when hooked on powerful drugs such as heroin.

A first step for any user is for them to admit that they have a problem and need help. Parents of drug users or users themselves can contact a support group, such as SANCA 086 14 72622. In extreme cases drug addicts may require the help of a rehabilitation centre to give up.

How do you tell if your child has a problem with drugs?
There are a number of warning signs that may indicate that your child has a drug problem:

• They skip school and their grades decline;
• They start getting into trouble at school and even with authorities;
• They become withdrawn, secretive, irritable and depressed; and
• You discover you are missing money, valuables or prescriptions from the doctor.

Keep in mind that young people may display some of these behaviours without being drug addicts. However it is a good idea to watch out for behaviour in your child that is out of character. It may just be a warning that he or she is taking drugs.

Those who are tempted to experiment with drugs in order to escape from reality should keep in mind that drugs do not make your life better or your problems disappear. Indeed, taking them can be a health risk and cause you to lose control of your life.

If you would like to know how GEMS can assist you or would like to obtain more information about any of your healthcare needs, you can phone the GEMS call centre on 0860 00 4367. GEMS will assist you in every way possible to ensure your family's health and well-being.

References:

1.  ‘1 in 5 Cape children on tik', http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/1-in-5-cape-children-on-tik-1.1506748#.UZYJeyvbqp0
2. We Do Recover, http://wedorecover.com/prescription/why-oxycontin-so-addictive.html 
3. Teaching the Millennial Generation, http://cgi.stanford.edu/~dept-ctl/tomprof/posting.php?ID=1047
4. Nyaope has not been classified as a illegal, http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=if0Gd4Qm5O
5. Bitter pill: life-saving HIV drugs fuel crime and addiction in South Africa, http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/6/4304686/south-africa-whoonga-hiv-drug-crime-addiction
6. Anti Drug Alliance, https://www.box.com/s/h8ff55f4g4ax6nalvpco
7. ‘Devil Bones', Health-e News Service, http://www.health-e.org.za/news/article.php?uid=20033130.
8. ‘Drug abuse and addiction', Helpguide.org, http://helpguide.org/mental/drug_substance_abuse_addiction_signs_effects_treatment.htm
9. ‘Hard reality about taking soft drugs', Mail & Guardian Online, 21 April 2011, http://mg.co.za/article/2011-04-21-hard-reality-about-taking-soft-drugs.
10. "Drug awareness fact file", SAPS, www.saps.gov.za/drugs/factfile.htm
11. SANCA, http://sancanational.org/