Pubdate: Sun, 17 Oct 2004 Source: Sunday Times (South Africa) Copyright: 2004 Johnnic Publishing Contact: http://www.suntimes.co.za Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1335 Author: Henriette Geldenhuys Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?158 (Club Drugs) IT'S SEX, DRUGS AND ROCK 'N' ROLL FOR YOUTH Survey Of Joburg And Pretoria Teens Presents Grim Picture 'Barriers against drug use are not that great. Illicit drugs are becoming more available in communities' ALMOST a quarter of Joburg's teenagers can easily get their hands on drugs such as mandrax, cocaine and heroine. More than 40% of teenagers have easy access to dagga, while more than seven out of 10 admit that alcohol is not hard to get. A total of 86% said they have no difficulty getting hold of cigarettes. This is the picture of Gauteng youth that emerged at a meeting of the South African Community Epidemiology Network on Drug Use in Pretoria on Thursday. According to research conducted by Neo Morojele of the Medical Research Council, 21% of the teenagers surveyed said they could get their hands on drugs such as mandrax, cocaine and heroin. She surveyed 748 adolescents from across Joburg between the ages of 12 and 17. "Barriers against drug use are not that great. Illicit drugs are becoming more available in communities," she said. Other research conducted among 586 Grade 8 pupils from three public schools in Soshanguve and Waverley, in Pretoria, showed that more than 30% use drugs, 14% smoke, 24% drink and more than 5% use dagga. The research, conducted by Dr Lekan Ayo-Yusuf of the Department of Community Dentistry at the University of Pretoria, also found that one in four pupils gambled. "This mostly involves betting on card games," he said. He added that 12% had tried to commit suicide. Of the teens, 16% said they had had sex, while 8% said they had forced someone to have sex with them or had been forced to have sex. Shockingly, half of the sexually active children did not use condoms, he said. "Those who had a weak ability to cope with stress were more likely to use alcohol, tobacco and drugs and to have attempted suicide - and experienced depression," said Ayo-Yusuf. It also emerged from the meeting that alcohol and cigarettes were still the biggest concern among adolescents. Morojele's research showed that 40% of girls and 47% of boys had experimented with cigarettes, while 15% were "highly dependent" on nicotine. A quarter of the pupils surveyed had used alcohol. "There is a lot of emphasis these days on illegal drugs. There's a lot of discussion about young people who are exposed to heroin and crack, as though legal drugs are not harmful. "We shouldn't neglect legal drugs. Alcohol and cigarettes are causing major problems - alcohol in particular," said Morojele. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek