Drug dependency influences people in all walks of life

MBOMBELA – Marina Erasmus, the Lowveld director of the South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (SANCA) stated that the organisation offers a voluntary and comprehensive 12-step program in order to combat drug dependency by users.

“This will, for example, involve the process of admitting the problem in group meetings, building reliance on a higher spiritual power, and retribution to correct the damage you have done to others,” Erasmus said.

Narcotics Anonymous (NA) is an independent, non-profit organisation that offers an ongoing network of support to addicts in their pursuit of a drug-free lifestyle. Nationwide, approximately 350 meetings happen each week, in which members share experiences and help one another. The meetings are generally only one hour long.

In a statement released by the public relations department of NA, it was stated that addiction is a progressive and continuous disease that can be arrested, but not cured. The NA programme is one of complete abstinence from substances. The programme is similar to the one provided by SANCA.

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Erasmus added that their program also provides a report at the end of their programme, in order to reflect their evaluation of the progress made by the former addict. “We also provide medicinal support to sufferers who are going through withdrawal symptoms. There was a heroin addict that begged me to help him with Methadone, a heroin replacement medicine that mimics the feeling experienced when on heroin, but is far safer, and its administration is continuously monitored by us.”

“After the Constitutional Court judgement that held that users can now use cannabis recreationally in the privacy of their own homes, the use of dagga has spiked. Young people are now using the drug more than ever, and it leads to other stronger substances,” Erasmus explained.

NA further stated that membership is open to anyone who feels they may have a drug problem. Membership is both voluntary and free, and meetings provide a safe and confidential space for members to engage with one another openly.

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“We have a 12-step programme that aims to guide addicts towards attaining and maintaining a substance-free lifestyle. Newer members are guided through the steps by experienced sponsors who have progressed further in their journey of recovery. Emotional and spiritual wellbeing are central to the NA program, and the cultivation of a spiritual connection to a higher power is fostered through individual meditation and prayer,” the NA public relations statement read.

For more information, you can visit the NA website at www.na.org.za, or contact the NA National Helpline on 086-100-6962 to be guided to the nearest meeting. Meeting information can be viewed on the website, too.