What do learners or young people think about drugs at school? Is it talked about too much or is it not talked about enough? Are people not aware enough or do they just not care?

Maxene Daly, a Form 3 learner of Ridgeway College, asked a couple of fellow learners what they think about the problem on August 21. She received some interesting responses.

Christopher van der Linde in Form 2 said: “Drugs are a huge problem, especially in upper-class schools and kids who have too much money and don’t know what to do with it.”

Chetali Desai in Form 4 said: “Drugs are a bigger problem than people think it is!” Her statement seems likely as statistics show that Cape Town teenagers spend R22 million a week on cigarettes, liquor and drugs.

“People don’t talk about it enough. They keep it very isolated. People should address the problem properly,” ads Chetali.

“All the young people should get together and form a campaign against drug use in schools. It’s worse than people think it is. Especially in our town,” says Punam Dave, a Form 4 learner.

Speaking to teenagers, one gets a strong feeling that people should take more notice of what is happening around them, especially when it comes to drugs and the people who sell or use them. According to statistics from a leading South African website dealing with teenage health, two out of every three children have been affected by drugs. Power, money and status can affect a lot of things. In 1998, 10% of teens between 12 and 17 were using illegal drugs. Imagine how the statistics have risen by now. South Africans spend up to R7 billion each year on illegal drugs. Each month, Grade 11 learners in Cape Town spend R5.7 million on cigarettes, R14 million on liquor, and R3,3 million on illegal drugs, which includes R2,1 million on dagga.