'All Cape Flats parents must be on alert over kids being sold Xanax at R3 a pill'
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The drug alprazolam, better known by its trading name, Xanax. Picture: Supplied The drug alprazolam, better known by its trading name, Xanax. Picture: Supplied
Cape Town – A warning issued to Lavender Hill parents over children being sold the highly addictive prescription drug Zanax – dubbed "Perky" – applies to "townships" on the Cape Flats as a whole, says Pastor Charles George.
Used to treat anxiety, panic disorders and insomnia, Xanax is being sold to children in Lavender Hill for R3 a pill, making them “act like zombies” for days, the Daily Voice reported.
If taken over a prolonged period, it results in impaired concentration, slurred speech, increased salivation, memory problems, irritability, mood changes and lethargy.
The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) indicated that it had received reports of children getting high on Xanax.
Last November, a Durban grandfather's investigation led him to three Durban schools where Xanax was being sold to pupils by their peers.
“Reports have indicated that learners in the Lavender Hill area are being sold the drug (also known as alprazolam) at R3 per pill," said WCED spokesperson Bronagh Hammond.
“The drug seemingly affects learner’s behaviour and attention span. SAPS has been alerted. Intervention and prevention strategies are being discussed.
“We hope that local law enforcement will discover the source and its distribution networks before more learners are targeted.
“It has serious negative side effects and is highly addictive.”
After his 16-year-old son had bought three of the pills and drank it with Coke, leaving him in a “zombie-like” state for days, an outraged Pastor Mark Nicholson, who runs a soup kitchen and a soccer club in Lavender Hill, confiscated an empty container, which takes 100 tablets, from a dealer.
Nicholson had gone “undercover” and asked a young man to buy him a pill from the dealer, discovering it was Xanax.
"My son admitted they bought this pill at Pontac Court where these guys are selling it. They said they paid R3 per pill…
“This is a serious issue because children at the local high school are using it.”
Getting paid in drugs is the way peddlers are rewarded for the work they do for gangsters, George said, such as hiding weapons for them or delivering ammunition.
It's easy for the drug peddlers to sell the drugs, he said, because the only forms of entertainment in the overcrowded townships, where life is challenging on a daily basis, are in shebeens or through the use of drugs.
"The whole environment sets children up to fail and it's difficult not to get caught up in the web," said George.
George, who is assisting with wifi connectivity on the Cape Flats, believes the youth becoming more tech-savvy, "to ensure they are equipped for the jobs of the future", is one of the ways parents on the Cape Flats can ensure the youth do not fall prey to drug dealers.