Background:
The local drug market in South Africa changes continuously and this change has impacted negatively on people who use drugs. Ten years ago a bag of heroine in our communities was sold for forty five rand and it was enough for five people to get a fix but lately the quality of the drug has declined drastically with one bag not enough for just one person.
Method:
In my engagements with people who use drugs in the periond of Jan-Dec 2024 in Pretoria I have learned of a new way that some people who inject drugs are supplementing their daily drug intake. Recently there has been a new concoction of heroine, methamphetamine and ARV’s that has been introduced by people who inject drugs, it is slowly gaining popularity and the term used for it is called “speed balling”. Due to lack of harm reduction services, safe injecting and safe using people who use drugs are misinformed. Some people who inject drugs believe that if they inject in the neck then the drug will be more potent and it is due to the deteriorating quality of the drug they use that people resort to such extreme measures
Result:
The drug suppliers in these areas are selfishly thinking about their businesses and not about the lives that are lost due to the poor quality of their supply and people who use drugs in such areas have no other choice but to accept whatever they are given due to lack of affordability and not knowing any better.
Conclusion:
The quality of the drugs supplied in the recent years has been the reason why some of our community of people who use drugs have lost their lives and no one has come out and said anything due to the way in which people who use drugs are treated by their families, community, the health department and society at large. |