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.