Dagga: The Gateway Drug
Dagga is one of the most prevalent drugs in South Africa. A popular choice amongst students and adults alike, dagga is widely available in almost every town and low-grade dagga can be bought at very low prices, making it a popular drug amongst the large low-income population of this country. Dagga, also known as marijuana, dope, spliff and pot, is most often smoked, but can also be ingested by using it as an ingredient in food or baked goods.
In small quantities dagga induces a sense of well-being and a dreamy state of relaxation, which may be accompanied by a more vivid sense of sight, smell, taste, and hearing as well as by subtle alterations in thought formation and expression. Users often find even mundane things exceptionally humorous and will have fits of uncontrollable laughter.
Dagga can also have a negative effect that includes extreme paranoia, shifting sensory imagery, rapidly fluctuating emotions, a flight of fragmentary thoughts with disturbed associations, an altered sense of self-identity, impaired memory, and a dulling of attention despite an illusion of heightened insight.
Dagga contains known toxins and cancer-causing chemicals which are stored in fat cells for as long as several months. Dagga users experience the same health problems as tobacco smokers, such as bronchitis, emphysema and bronchial asthma. Extended use increases risk to the lungs and reproductive system, as well as suppression of the immune system.
While dagga does not pose the severe health risks associated with other ‘hard’ drugs, it is often considered a gateway drug that opens the door to the abuse of more dangerous drugs. Using dagga can create the impression that drug abuse is not that dangerous, as well as expose new users to other users who are using ‘hard’ drugs.
Dagga is also often mixed with other drugs, such as Mandrax, and can thus be consumed unknowingly if a user dwells in the wrong circles.
For more information on dagga and its effects, or to find help for an addiction to this drug, contact South Coast Recovery Centre. We have the necessary expertise and facilities to provide professional care and sustainable recovery treatment.
We will do whatever it takes ...
SCRC's approach is aimed at facilitating change from the culture of addiction to the culture of recovery.
This process will yield limited success when approached outside of a residential treatment facility particularly when detoxification is required. It is imperative that individuals entering treatment are given as much training and education as possible.
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