School children as young as 12 are hooked on hard drugs right in Endumeni
Sources in Glencoe, who declined to be identified, said often foreign nationals are involved in the selling of hard drugs that are 'imported from larger centres'.
Drugs, including CAT, dagga, mandrax and Tik, are readily available in Glencoe and primary school children, as young as 12, are addicted.
Unscrupulous dealers think nothing of plying their trade on the streets of Glencoe and sell to anyone – including children as young as 12 – who are willing to buy.
While police are working hard to stem the proliferation of the drug trade in the town and recently made several arrests and seized quantities of drugs, it is notoriously difficult to nab the clever dealers who move around the town, armed with cellphones with contact numbers for their ‘customers’.
At anywhere between R20 and R60 is partly why cat is now chasing at the heels of methamphetamine to be South Africa’s sixth-largest drug of abuse.
CAT, which is Methcathinone, is a white crystalline powder, that has gained a major foothold in the area. It is “almost as addictive as crack” by some accounts, but also much milder in its effects, like a more manageable speed or souped-up Ritalin. South African rehabilitation centres are reporting that its use is growing out of the typical 17-25 age bracket and starting to span the generations.
At anywhere between R20 and R60 is partly why cat is now chasing at the heels of methamphetamine to be South Africa’s sixth-largest drug of abuse.
“It’s viewed as the poor mans’ coke,” said Wayne Kellsal, who runs the Step Away treatment centre in Gauteng, “Cocaine is rather costly here, and so cat now has very fast-growing demand, along with crystal meth.”
Bank bags of dagga and mandrax are also typically sold – sometimes outside shops under the noses of unsuspecting passers-by.
Sources in Glencoe, who declined to be identified, said often foreign nationals are involved in the selling of hard drugs that are ‘imported from larger centres’.
Police need help from the public to curb the tide of drugs that is threatening a generation and a town. Anyone who has information regarding those who deal in drugs in the area is urged to contact their nearest police station – information will be treated in the strictest confidence.
