Sleeping pills; the new school ‘drug’
"She doesn't even remember what happened at school after taking the tablets. My concern is that the girls could have left class and been taken advantage of by the boys,”
Four pupils were caught taking sleeping pills at a local high school recently.
The matter was brought to light by a concerned mother, whose 16-year-old daughter was among the pupils who had taken the tablets.
“When I went to fetch my daughter from school, she was totally dazed,” said the mother, who wished to remain anonymous. Her daughter, along with her friends, allegedly bought the tablets from a schoolboy.
“I gave my daughter a hiding, but she remembers nothing after she sobered up. She doesn’t even remember what happened at school after taking the tablets. My concern is that the girls could have left class and been taken advantage of by the boys,” the mother claimed.
The school has since taken steps against the boy who sold the pills.
According to Lillian Gajoo from SANCA, there has been an increase in the number of teenagers abusing drugs and that over the counter medication, such as antidepressants were often used by thrill-seeking teens.
“They will take any form of substance to get a high,” she concluded.
Signs of drug abuse involve the following symptoms:
Periods of laziness, loss of energy or sleepiness.
Change in appearance.
Change in appetite and weight loss.
Unnatural hunger and thirst.
Aggression.
Mood swings and restlessness.
Lack of motivation and concentration.
Lying and dishonesty.
Secretive and withdrawn.
Loss of interest in school and friends.
