{"id":5333,"date":"2024-10-22T08:10:27","date_gmt":"2024-10-22T08:10:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/?p=5333"},"modified":"2024-10-22T08:10:29","modified_gmt":"2024-10-22T08:10:29","slug":"children-as-young-as-four-now-into-drugs-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/?p=5333","title":{"rendered":"Children As Young As Four Now Into Drugs In South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><br>South African Correspondent<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>South Africa is facing a devastating crisis: children as young as four are abusing drugs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (Sanca) recently revealed this alarming trend, prompting them to adapt their programs to support younger children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sanca&#8217;s national director, Adri Vermeulen, sounded the alarm, stating that children between four and ten years old are seeking treatment, indicating deep-seated issues within families and communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The most commonly abused substances among these children include alcohol, cannabis, methamphetamine, and heroin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Key Factors Contributing to Substance Abuse:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Unemployment: Many young drug users lack employment opportunities, making them vulnerable to substance abuse.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Easy Access: The widespread availability and low cost of drugs exacerbate the problem.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Historical Roots: South Africa&#8217;s colonial and apartheid past has contributed to the current substance abuse crisis, with alcohol having been used as a tool of oppression.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Global Drug Trafficking: South Africa&#8217;s position as a transit hub for international drug traffickers further complicates the issue.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Vermeulen emphasized the need for a shift in societal attitudes, recognizing addiction as a disease and prioritizing youth protection. She urged communities to come together to address this crisis effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In another study focusing on fathers&#8217; experiences with children struggling with substance abuse, researchers found that fathers play a crucial role in supporting their children. The study highlighted the importance of understanding the challenges fathers face and the need for community support to combat substance abuse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This issue requires immediate attention and collective action to protect South Africa&#8217;s youth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Zim GBC News\u00a92024<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>South African Correspondent South Africa is facing a devastating crisis: children as young as four are abusing drugs. The South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (Sanca) recently&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5334,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[105],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5333"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5333\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5335,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5333\/revisions\/5335"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}