Do Ladysmith junkies share ‘Nyaope’ via ‘Bluetoothing’?
'Bluetoothing' is just a catchy name for an old, existing habit among severe addicts
A new drug trend of sharing ‘Nyaope’, called ‘Bluetoothing’, has sent shock waves through urban South Africa as this trend raises major health concerns such as HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. While ‘Bluetoothing’ is a trending story in the suburbs of JHB, Durban and Cape Town, in Ladysmith it is almost unheard of among drug users.
Nyaope, also known as Whoonga, is a dangerous and highly addictive South African street drug. Nyaope is a fine powder that is usually combined with marijuana (dagga) and smoked. It can also be snorted or injected.
‘Bluetoothing’ is where one of the users, who is already high, injects himself with a syringe‚ draws blood from himself and injects a friend who is not high – as a form of sharing.
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A Nyaope user in Ladysmith, who did not want to be named, stated that they have heard about this ‘Bluetoothing’ trend but have not yet tried it out or even know whether the exchange of the high through a syringe actually works.
“I’ve heard about this new trend, but I think it’s still more popular in the bigger cities, as I have not seen anyone here in Ladysmith doing it. But word on the street is that it actually works,” said the ‘Nyaope’ user.
“This trend of sharing a drug via syringes is a common thing among heroin and whoonga smokers. It has been in existence for a long time. The only new thing about this method is the name they have given it, ie ‘Bluetoothing’,” said Fathima Khan of SANCA (South African National Council on Alcoholism, Ladysmith).
Fathima stressed that ‘Bluetoothing’ is just a catchy name for an old, existing habit among severe addicts.
“Ladysmith is a whoonga infested town. There are a lot of drug users here and we need people to be aware of this highly addictive drug. On a monthly basis, we treat more than 5 users, of which most of them are from Acaciavale, Steadville, Ezakheni and Uitvaal,” said Lorraine Freeman, who is also from SANCA Ladysmith.
Fathima and Lorraine encourage everyone to be more aware of these drugs and are open for anyone who suffers from any type of drug addiction to visit them at their offices (Room 111, EMG Centre, Lyell Street) and can be contacted on 0366375657.
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