Sebolelo Tseeke, senior social worker and acting manager at Sanca, said that there is free help available for addicts.

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“We are an out-patient, government funded, organisation which assists addicts stop their addiction.”
She said that in many cases addicts, who are young, started using drugs as a result of peer pressure.
“In adults, we find that they started using as a coping mechanism for stress and emotions.

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“In almost all of our cases addicts started by smoking marijuana and once they no longer got the same high did they start using harder drugs.”
Once a week clients will visit the organisation to receive therapy.
“We also have a sessional doctor who assists addicts with withdrawal,” said Tseeke.
She adds that the most important element to recovering from an addiction is receiving therapy.
“If the clients cannot cope with just receiving therapy then we will refer them to a state rehabilitation, but as there is only one that services the Gauteng province, there is a waiting list.”
Tseeke added that when addicts are arrested and appear in court, that the court will sometimes refer the addict to them for rehabilitation.