Dagga use - the scourge of our youth

A group of young boys aged 17 and one 14 gathers in an open veld in Onverwacht, Lephalale, sharing a dagga joint. Two puffs each before they pass the joint in rotation, writes Tebogo Tlhako.
“We are doing it for fun and there is no harm in that. We smoke it because it makes us feel good and helps us to forget about our problems for a while,” says one of the boys. “And it’s not like we steal the money to buy it from our parents, we use our pocket money.”
Dagga packages sell for R10 to R50 depending on how much you want.
Thapelo* says that he does not have a reason to smoke it; he is just doing it because his friends are doing it, “peer pressure is getting the better of me and I don’t want to feel left out. If my parents ever found out I would be in big trouble,” he says, but he continues smoking.
“Sports is a good way to pass the time, but not everyone is talented, so we find new ways to amuse ourselves,” he explains, adding that they don’t smoke dagga every day. “We do it on weekends just to have fun with our friends – it’s not like we are going to get addicted.”
But according to Josephine Makhuthudisa, senior social worker at the Suid-Afrikaanse Vroue Federasie (SAVF) in Lephalale, dagga usage among the youth in Lephalale is a major concern. “We are facing a huge challenge and we need to work together with the police and relevant stakeholders to find the right approach to stop people from selling this drug to children before they all become addicts,” she said.
Makhuthudisa added that usually it’s the environment children live in that lets them fall into substance abuse. She also added that the age group where dagga smoking is most rife is 16 to 19 and mainly boys. “We don’t have enough recreational facilities in Lephalale to keep these children busy when they return from school.”
The mild effects of dagga include  relaxation, euphoria, false confidence, increased appetite, impaired judgement and false reality. The long-term effects are addiction, decrease in concentration and memory that leads to learning problems, decreased motivation,  negative social behaviour, a decreases the immune system functioning and depression amongst others.
* Not his real name - Tebogo Thlako (tebogo@noordnuus.co.za)