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Drug abuse can have detrimental effects on users and society as a whole and it is because of this that SANCA Drug Awareness Week was created.
The South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drugs (SANCA) Drug Awareness Week kicks off on June 25 and will run through to June 30. This falls in with International Day against Drug Trafficking, which takes place on June 26. During this time, emphasis will be put on healthy lifestyles, while urging those already addicted to various drugs to seek necessary help.
The fight against drugs is an on-going battle that continues long after the end of the awareness week.As a result, Lancet Laboratories has joined forces with SANCA to ensure that young people at risk of drug misuse or who are experimenting with drugs have access to a range of testing, advice, counselling, treatment, rehabilitation and after care service.
And to also raise awareness among communities and the youth in particular about the negative effects of abusing drugs. Lancet believes that “we have to give our youth an opportunity to give their existence meaning and being drug-free while gaining an education is one of the better gifts we can give them.”
Common drugs a problem
According to SANCA, some of the most common types of drugs which can be found within the community are alcohol, dagga, cocaine and Mandrax. Abusing these drugs can play a vital role in the destruction of families, crime and eventually the death of the user.
SANCA’s major objectives are the prevention and treatment of alcohol and other drug dependence. It provides public education and treatment services for chemically dependent people and their families.
A major cause for concern is the misuse of substances by school-going youth. It’s evident from the calls made to SANCA and Lancet by concerned parents and educators, that drugs are a huge problem at schools. In this regard, parents and educators are often at a loss for guidance on how to manage these issues.
Help is sought from religious leaders or the family doctor or the child is taken for drug testing without the necessary counselling and care during this stressful time. Artful stratagems on the part of drug users to produce a clean drug test result can also lead to continuing drug abuse and further stress for loved ones. Sometimes this leads to frustrated parents ejecting the child from the family home because they no longer have the will or the capacity to deal with the problem.
How to get help
SANCA suggests very strongly that its help and counsel are sought before that point is reached. In conjunction with its testing partner – Lancet Laboratories- properly supervised drug sampling and testing can be held in order to determine the extent of the problem and appropriate counselling and active help given.
Lancet’s excellent drug diagnostics and SANCA’s expertise in interpreting the results for parents and teachers can go a long way toward ensuring that their children are quickly put on a sustainable path to recovery.
For further information on SANCA and its programmes, or if you need help in overcoming an addiction, call Kathy Vos at SANCA on (011) 917-5015. For further information about Lancet and its drug diagnostic tools, please contact Peter De Wet on (011) 358- 0831. Or see its website at: www.lancet.co.za
(Press release, June 2012)
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