Illicit Drug Use in South Africa: Findings from a 2008 National Population-Based Survey (Report‪)‬

An illicit drug is a psychoactive substance whose production, sale or use is prohibited. (1) In the case of pharmaceutical preparations as well as naturally occurring substances such as cannabis, a drug is a substance that is used with the intention of bringing about change in some existing process or state, be it psychological, physiological or biomedical. The intended modification can be directed towards change in medical, behavioural or perceptual states and for either therapeutic or non-medical purposes. Substances not usually considered as drugs (e.g. foods, beverages, solvents and aerosols) may function as drugs under certain circumstances. (1) Globally, the use of illicit drugs entails a considerable burden of disease: in 2000, 0.8% of the global burden as measured in disability-adjusted life years was attributable to illicit drugs. (2) Drug treatment data provide information about those seeking help. The primary substance(s) of abuse (apart from alcohol (51.3%)) on admission to most government-funded treatment centres (N=60) in 2006 in South Africa show high rates for illicit drugs: cannabis--19.9%, methamphetamine (tik)--5.2%, crack/ cocaine--7.8%, cannabis and mandrax--2.6%, heroin/opiates --5.5%, and prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs 2.8%. (3) The percentage of admissions for cannabis, heroin, and methamphetamine increased between 1996 and 2005, while the admission percentages decreased for alcohol. Cannabis abuse alone increased from 14% in 1999 to 17% in 2005, for all treatment demands. (3) Cannabis and mandrax (methaqualone), alone or in combination, are the most frequently reported illicit drugs of abuse generally, with the largest proportions among drug-related arrests, drug-related psychiatric diagnoses and drug-positive trauma patients. (4)