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REUTERS<\/p>\n
Getting high on drugs is becoming a way of life in rich suburbs in Durban.<\/p>\n
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Boredom and wealth have resulted in Durban\u2019s affluent suburbs becoming home to organised drug dens where secret dealings among urban professionals and students have become a way of life. <\/p>\n
This is the impression of drug counsellors, police and community police forums. They say that drug trading in suburbs like Hillcrest, Westville, Kloof, Durban North, uMhlanga and Ballito is out of control. <\/p>\n
Ballito was recently in the spotlight after the death of gym instructor Craig Hall who is thought to have been caught up in a drug turf war. <\/p>\n
Joey du Plessis, founder and director of the Careline Crisis and Trauma Centre in Hillcrest, said drug dealing was rife in the area. Dagga and \u201csugars\u201d were the drugs of choice for younger users while those who continued the habit opted for harder drugs. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the rich and they only get the best. They are all professionals and have special contacts who they get their drugs from. It\u2019s all done through networks.\u201d <\/p>\n
Du Plessis said only about 10 percent of users were addicted. Wealthy users had no problem paying R1 400 for a \u201cmoon\u201d \u2013 about 4cm of crack cocaine. <\/p>\n
The trade was also prevalent in Westville. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is all networked, like a dirty little secret,\u201d said Westville police spokesman Stephen Clark. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is rife especially among urban professionals \u2013 those in their late thirties and early forties. They\u2019re either self-employed or executives who can afford it. To them using drugs is not an issue. Snorting cocaine is like drinking coffee.\u201d <\/p>\n
Private investigator Brad Nathanson said 50 percent of domestic cases he investigated were linked to drugs with Hillcrest, Ballito and central Durban the worst areas. <\/p>\n
\u201cWith affluent users, the drug is cocaine,\u201d he said, warning that bulking agents used in cocaine posed the greatest dangers to users. He said people bought drugs at petrol stations, from car guards and club bouncers, and, he said, he knew of a dealer in Ballito who had a motto that he delivered faster than pizza deliveries. <\/p>\n
Haden Searles, chairman of the Durban North and Umhlanga Community Police Forum, said the drug trade was not out of control but rather considered by many as a lifestyle supplement. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe have seen it from teens to people older than 45\u2026 the biggest problem is the ordering; you have to be in the know and have built up trust. It is very discreet \u2013 not a lot of stuff is being intercepted.\u201d <\/p>\n
A 21-year-old Durban North student, who recently stopped using drugs, said taking cocaine was \u201csomething to do\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was not addicted\u2026 I would take ecstasy when I was partying because it gave me confidence and energy and I really enjoyed it. <\/p>\n
\u201cCocaine was used as something to mellow me out after taking ecstasy after coming home from a party,\u201d she said, adding that ecstasy was \u201cextremely easy to get\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cI once met a dealer outside (a popular entertainment venue) on the promenade. We exchanged money and drugs just by walking and talking.\u201d <\/p>\n
A 20-year old Kloof student said using ecstasy was almost \u201csocially acceptable\u201d and very common among teenagers and young adults. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou only realise how easy it is to get drugs once you have taken them. They are right under our noses\u2026 You can get them anywhere. Sometimes in (shopping centre) parking lots, at a friend\u2019s house, at nightclubs or outside a bank or hotel.\u201d <\/p>\n
SAPS spokesman Colonel Jay Naicker said drug use had no distinction in social status, race, religion or gender, but the perception was that it was increasing in affluent neighbourhoods. This was because of the increase in arrests of drug dealers and abusers, and the recovery of drugs in these areas. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
REUTERS Getting high on drugs is becoming a way of life in rich suburbs in Durban. Boredom and wealth have resulted in Durban\u2019s affluent suburbs becoming home to organised drug dens where secret dealings among urban professionals and students have become a way of life. This is the impression of drug counsellors, police and community […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[8275,953,2143],"class_list":{"0":"post-12708","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-south-africa","7":"tag-durban","8":"tag-newspaper","9":"tag-the-mercury","10":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12708"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12708\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}