Life after matric: The impact of drugs and substance abuse in South Africa and Africa Communities
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20525/ijrbs.v14i6.4266Keywords:
Social Justice, Engagement. Africanising Curriculum, Epistemic Injustice ,Substance Abuse, Drug.Abstract
Substance abuse refers to the harmful or hazardous use of psychoactive substances, including alcohol and illicit drugs. One of the key impacts of illicit drug use on society is the negative health consequences experienced by its members. For many young people across the world, substance misuse is a serious problem. There have been reports that alcohol misuse is widespread in South Africa. The purpose of this paper is to outline the elements that influence of the impact of drugs and substance abuse in South Africa and Africa Communities. The findings of the study that was carried out in the unofficial settlement regions are presented in this essay. The findings of drug usage in the informal community serve as the foundation for the conclusions drawn in this article regarding substance abuse in South Africa. According to this report, young people in South Africa misuse and consume alcohol at significant rates. Unemployment, a lack of effective mentoring, a lack of family values, inadequate parental advice, and a loss of hope were some of the contributing reasons. To achieve the study's goals, a desktop research technique was used, and secondary data was evaluated and deconstructed. This study's major goal was to look at the causes and motivations behind young people's alcohol abuse. The inquiry concentrated on young people's excessive and unusual alcohol consumption.
Downloads
References
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. 2015. National Drug Strategy Household Survey. AIHW; Canberra.
Babbie, E. & Mouton, J. 2011. The practice of social research. Cape Town: Oxford University Press.
Babbie, E. 2012. The practice of social research. Belmont: Wadsworth.
Brown, L. & Holloway, I. 2013. Qualitative Research in Sport and Physical Activity. SAGE Publications Ltd
Creswell, J. W. 2014. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches. (4th Edition). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Creswell, J. W. 2020. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches. (5th Edition). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Denscombe, M. 2018. Research Proposals-A practical guide. McGraw- Hill House: Open University Press.
Department of Health and Human Services. 2015. Results from the 2015 national Survey on Drug Use and Health: national findings. Rockville; NCADI.
DePoy, E. & Gitlin, L. N. 2016. Introduction to Research: Understanding and Applying Multiple Strategies. (5th Edition). USA: Elsevier DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-26171-5.00036-7
Drug Advisory Board. 2019. National Drug Master Plan. Department of Welfare; Cape Town.
Drug Policy Alliance. Africa. 2017. Available: www.drugpolicy/.org/global/drugpolicyby/africa (03 November 2024).
Drugaware Dagga or Cannabis. 2016. Available: http://www.drugaware.co.za/dagga.html (Accessed on 18 August 2024).
Eide, A., H, Acuda S., W. 2018. Cultural orientation and use of cannabis and inhalants among secondary school children in Zimbabwe. Social Science & Medicine. 2018;45(8):1241–1249. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0277-9536(97)00052-X
Eliseev, A, Maughan K. 2016. The heart of the drug business. 2016 August 22; The Star.
Flisher, J. Ziervogel, F. 2020. Risk-taking behaviour of Cape Peninsula high-school students. Part V: Drug use. South African Medical Journal. 2020;83(7):483–485.
Frank, C. Fisher, S. 2020. “Kids, drugs and transformation: raising conceptual issues. Crime & Conflict. 2020; 12:19–24.
Gray, D. E. 2014. Doing research in the real world. London: SAGE.
Hawthorne P. Cocaine’s New Conduit. 2020. December 9; Time.
Holloway, I. and Wheeler, S. 2013. Qualitative Research in Nursing and Healthcare. (3rd Edition). UK: Wiley-Blackwell, A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Kumar, R. 2020. Research Methodology- a step-by-step guide for beginners. (5th Edition). London: SAGE Publications.
Leedy, P.D. & Ormrod, J.E. 2016. Practical Research: Planning and Design. (11th New Jersey): Pearson Education International.
Leggett T. 2017. Drugs and crime in South Africa: A study in three cities. Monograph 69. Institute for Securities Studies; Pretoria.
Mark M. L. and Lisa T. B. 2014. Research Methods in Crime, Justice, and Social Problems. 2nd Edition. Oxford University Press
Maxfield, M. G. & Babbie, E. 2015. Research Methods for Criminal Justice and Criminology. Belmont: Wadsworth.
Maxfield, M. G. & Babbie, E. R. 2020. Research Methods for Criminal Justice and Criminology. Belmont, CA, Wadsworth Pub.
Muller, M, Lombard, C. 2019. Substance use by adolescents in Cape Town: Prevalence and correlates. Journal Adolescent Health. 2019; 32:58–65. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1054-139X(02)00445-7
Mwansa, A. Rocha-Silva, L. 2014. Substance use among young people: findings of a multi-centre study in three African countries. Contemporary Drug Problems. 2004;31(2):329–356. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/009145090403100207
Nel, E. 2023. An overview of the management of the drug situation in South Africa. 2023. [Online]. Available: http://www.unafei.or.jp/english/pdf/PDF_rms/no64/ch10.pdf (Accessed on 16 April 2023)
Odejide, A., O. 2016. Status of drug use/Abuse in Africa: a review. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. 2016; 4:87–102. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-006-9015-y
Parry, C., D., H. Plüddemann, A. Myers, B., J. 2017. Heroin treatment demand in South Africa: trends from two large metropolitan sites (January 2017-December 2020) Drug and Alcohol Review. 2005;24:419–423. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09595230500290841
Parry, C., H. Bhana, A. Bayley, J. 2017. South African Community Epidemiology Network on Drug Use (SACENDU): Monitoring Alcohol and Drug Abuse Trends. Highlights and Executive Summary (Volume 1) January-June 1997. Medical Research Council; Parow.
Parry, C., H. Myers, B. Morojele, N., K. Flisher, A., J. Bhana, A. Donson, H. Plüddemann, A. 2017. Trends in adolescent alcohol and other drug use: findings from three sentinel sites in South Africa (2017-2022) Journal of Adolescence. 2020; 27:429–440. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2003.11.013
Peltzer, K. Cherian. V., I. Cherian, L. 2019. Substance use among rural secondary school pupils in the Northern Province, South Africa. JPA. 2019a;9(1):58–65.
Peltzer, K. Malaka, D., W. Phaswana, N. 2015. Prevalence of substance use among first year university students in South Africa: baseline assessment for primary prevention intervention. The Social Work Practitioner-Researcher. 2015;14(1):67–79.
Peltzer, K., Cherian, V., I. Cherian, L. 2019. Substance use among urban secondary school pupils in South Africa. South African Journal of Child and Adolescent Mental Health. 1999b;11(1):49–55. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/16826108.1999.9633861
Rocha-Silva, L. 2014. Alcohol, tobacco and other drug use: Young South Africans (10-24 years) HSRC; Pretoria.
South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (SANCA). 2019. Treatment data. SANCA; Gauteng.
South African Police Service Drug related crime in the RSA for the period April to March 2021/2022 Available: http://www.saps.gov.za/statistics/reports/crimestats/2005/_pdf/crimes/drug_related.pdf (Accessed on 21 August 2023).
Taroni, F., Bozza, S., Biedermann, A., Garbolino, P. & Aitken, C. 2010. Data analysis in forensic science. A Bayesian decision perspective. West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470665084
Terblanche, S., S. Venter, D. 2019. Drug abuse amongst high school pupils. Social Work. 2019; 22:161–178.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). 2013. Strategic programme framework on crime and drugs for Southern Africa. UNODC; Pretoria, South Africa.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). 2016. South Africa: country profile on drugs and crime. UNODC; Pretoria, South Africa
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). 2016. World drug report. UNODC; Vienna.
United States Department of State. 2020. International Narcotics Control Strategy Report - South Africa. US Department of State; Washington DC.
UNODCCP. 2019. The drug nexus in Africa. UNODCCP; Vienna.
Visser, M. Moleko, A. 2017. High-risk behaviour of primary school learners. Urban Health and Development Bulletin. 2(1):69–77.
Welman, J.C., Kruger, S.J. and Mitchell, B. 2010. Research methodology for the business and administrative sciences. (6th Edition). Johannesburg: Thomson.
Welman, J.C., Kruger, S.J. and Mitchell, B. 2010. Research methodology for the business and administrative sciences. (6th Edition). Johannesburg: Thomson.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Mokopane Charles Marakalala
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
For all articles published in IJRBS, copyright is retained by the authors. Articles are licensed under an open access Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license, meaning that anyone may download and read the paper for free. In addition, the article may be reused and quoted provided that the original published version is cited. These conditions allow for maximum use and exposure of the work, while ensuring that the authors receive proper credit.
