'Curb lethal street drug'

Laws to curb the use of nyaope - usually a mix of cheap heroin, anti-retrovirals and other chemicals - are on the cards.

The Gauteng government wants the drug to be classified as an illegal substance because of its link to juvenile delinquency and crime, including rape.

National police figures show that about 60% of crimes are related to substance abuse, with nyaope users featuring prominently .

Mongezi Tshongweni, head of Gauteng's community safety department, said yesterday that there would be talks with law enforcement agencies to come up with solutions.

"What we want is for all role players to come together to find a [solution] to this problem because legally you can't prosecute people who are smoking nyaope.

"It is [often] a concoction of legal drugs, like ARVs, [rat poison] and others. So there are a few technicalities," he said.

On Friday, Tshongweni and his department appeared before the province's portfolio committee on community safety. Tshongweni told the committee that the war against crime could not be won without first dealing with nyaope.

"[There has been] an increase of substance abuse, especially nyaope. The police and the Department of Justice have a problem in terms of defining the drug," Tshongweni said.

"As a result, they [experience] difficulty taking offenders through the criminal justice system."

The drug, which became popular in some parts of Pretoria around 2005, is used in various ways.

Some users inject it; others mix it with dagga.

"We know the adverse effects of this drug called nyaope. [It] is a gateway to crimes like break-ins and rape," said Tshongweni.

A survey by consumer insights company Pondering Panda indicated that three in five young people in South Africa were against the legalisation of the use of dagga.

About 5024 respondents, aged between 13 and 34, were interviewed across the country. Only 38% of them were found to be in favour of legalising the drug.

Yesterday, Nandi Mayathula-Khoza, Gauteng's social development MEC, said the non-classification of nyaope as an illegal drug is undermining efforts to fight crime.

"Addicts often become involved in crime and prostitution in order to get their next hit. It also heightens sexual desire, which is thought to be behind the rise in rape cases in the townships."

"Last year, in Gauteng alone, 25949 drug-related crimes were recorded.

"Nyaope users are typically between the ages of 13 and 19."