It gives a quick rush of confidence and power that all adolescents
seek, but the down side is that Tik addiction makes users lag
behind their peers emotionally - and can leave them paranoid and
prone to violence

Tik, Tuk-Tuk or crystal meth gives adolescents what they want -
confidence and a sense of power.

And it's out there and available. Recent research in Cape Town
found that one in four high school pupils canvassed knew of a
dealer at their school. The number was even higher for those who
knew how to get it outside of school.

But it's also highly addictive - almost as high as heroin - and could
set addicts back years as they struggle later to make up for the
emotional and physical development retardation they will suffer
while they're taking it.

That's the blunt message for users from Grant Jardine, director of
the Cape Town Drug Counselling Centre, who said the devastating
reality was that the effect of the drug - confidence, energy and a
sense of power - dovetailed exactly with the adolescent state, and
what youngsters saw as "lacking" in their lives.

Jardine puts the sudden rapid upswing in the use of tik to two
things:

Every new generation tends to define itself separately, with new
music, clothes and slang. Often, new drugs come along with that.

"I think we're seeing the younger generation preferring tik to
mandrax. It's all about learnt behaviour from previous generations
- - the same behaviour, just different drugs.

"From generation to generation, the choice of drugs also often
skips from uppers to downers. Mandrax is a downer, now tik is an
upper," Jardine said.

His second point relates to the fact that tik gives adolescents
exactly what they want.

"Adolescence is a time when youngsters find their role in society
changing. They have more responsibility and sexuality becomes a
factor. These changes often result in lack of confidence and
awkwardness.

"Tik counteracts this, giving them a sense of power and
confidence," Jardine said.

The proof of tik's potency, drug counsellors believe, lies in the fact
that users seek help quite soon after experimenting with the drug.

"It's taking over people's lives quicker. With dagga it's a long time
before the effects are noticeable, but with tik, that's not the case,"
she said.

Realistically, not everyone who takes drugs gets addicted. But while
those experimenting with dagga have a better chance of escaping
addiction, with tik the odds are definitely against the user.

And, as Jardine points out, the biggest problem is that young users
are only masking their feelings of incompetence, prolonging the
battle that goes naturally with teenage development.

When (and if) they quit, they'll have to go through the struggle
anyway, but by that time they could be in their 20s.

"The greatest negative impact tik has is on the emotional and
physical development of the user.

"If a 20-year-old comes into treatment, but has been taking drugs
since age 13, they'll have the emotional maturity of a 13-year-old,"
he said.

Development is retarded or even halted, so even if the user
manages to quit, they'll almost certainly struggle with stress,
especially around making decisions, with relationships and
especially sexual relationships.

"Taking drugs won't mean you skip having to go through those
natural experiences. It'll just mean the battle will be much more
difficult later on," Jardine said.

Another real concern among drug counsellors is the ease with
which tik is manufactured and sold. As Jardine puts it, "it doesn't
take a rocket scientist to make it".

Generally, the drug sells for between R20 and R40 a "straw",
depending on its quality.

Tik works by mimicking naturally occurring substances in the body,
especially feel-good chemicals that would, for example, be
released if a teenager kissed someone they really liked.

But if these substances are taken externally, as in tik, the body not
only stops producing these feel-good chemicals naturally, but also
kicks into trying to prevent absorption of the chemicals, so killing
off receptors.

"There's no natural high left for them then. They won't be able to
feel good in relation to a real-life experience.

"The only way to get that back is the withdrawal process, a process
during which the body readjusts and starts producing those
chemicals naturally," Jardine explained.

The worst effects they're seeing among their mostly teenage clients
are psychotic episodes, hallucinations and delusions. It can also
heighten aggression.

Tik is a stimulant, so Jardine warns parents to watch out for signs
that include restlessness, youngsters talking very fast, not finishing
their sentences, an inability to stick to one topic, hyperactivity,
weight loss, jitteriness and trembling.

"The impact of this drug is severe, and the effects can be
devastating," he said.

* For more information, visit the Cape Town Drug Counselling
Centre website at www.drugcentre.org.za