{"id":12150,"date":"2022-06-24T12:35:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-24T12:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssdev.co.za\/crossroads-old\/?p=12150"},"modified":"2023-07-17T11:15:34","modified_gmt":"2023-07-17T11:15:34","slug":"are-crystal-drugs-popular-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ssdev.co.za\/crossroads-old\/are-crystal-drugs-popular-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Are crystal drugs popular in South Africa?"},"content":{"rendered":"<header><div class=\"contained\"><div><div><\/div><div class=\"content\"><h1>Are crystal drugs popular in South Africa?<\/h1><a href=\"#recoveryModal\" class=\"btn submit\" data-toggle=\"modal\">Reach out now, we can help<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/header><div id=\"crumbs\" class=\"contained\" data-is-podcasts=\"\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ssdev.co.za\/crossroads-old\">Home<\/a>  \/  <\/div><h3 data-date='24 June 2022' class='article-title'>Are crystal drugs popular in South Africa?<\/h3><div class='info'><span>24 June, 2022<\/span><span>Articles, News<\/span><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ssdev.co.za\/crossroads-old\/drug-addiction\/meth-addiction\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/ssdev.co.za\/crossroads-old\/drug-addiction\/meth-addiction\/\">Crystal drugs (colloquially known as &ldquo;tik&rdquo;)<\/a> is used by and very popular amongst the emerging working class in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Crystal drugs, the most widely used synthetic drug globally, has spread rapidly throughout the South African society, and has become very popular. It is a highly addictive synthetic drug that increases energy and feelings of euphoria. It is locally referred to as &ldquo;tik&rdquo; due to the &ldquo;ticking&rdquo; sound produced when smoked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Crystal drugs are perceived as the fastest-growing addictive substance ever introduced into the market, and at some point, have even exceeded commonly used drugs such as dagga, mandrax and ecstasy. Crystal drug use in South Africa is regarded as a recent phenomenon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Repeated use can have some psychological effects.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">These include:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>anxiety, irritability and aggressive or violent behaviour<\/li><li>alertness and increased concentration<\/li><li>hyperactivity and&nbsp;insomnia<\/li><li>increased energy, libido, self-esteem, confidence, and sociability<\/li><li>delusions of grandeur with a sensation of power and invincibility<\/li><li>hallucinations and paranoia<\/li><li>psychomotor agitation and compulsive skin picking, leading to skin sores<\/li><li>repetitive and obsessive behaviours<\/li><li>psychosomatic disorders, where an apparent physical symptom or ailment is caused by a mental disturbance<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When taken regularly or in high doses, crystal drugs can cause a condition known as methamphetamine&nbsp;psychosis.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The Western Cape province of South Africa is a mainly Coloured area and many of its communities struggle with high rates of &lsquo;gangsterism&rsquo;, drug abuse, crime and organised crime. Compounding the problem is the existence of crystal drugs, which has rooted itself deep within the already affected social milieu of these communities that is already clouded by the impact of <a href=\"https:\/\/ssdev.co.za\/crossroads-old\/drug-rehabilitation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"substance abuse (opens in a new tab)\">substance abuse<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The rapid and extensive spread of crystal drugs remains a problem\nin South Africa and is a major under-researched phenomenon.&nbsp; Evidence of the impact of crystal drug use on\nsociety, including some of the hard-hit communities are well documented.\nCrystal drug use has also been shown to be associated with childhood sexual\nabuse and HIV sexual risk behaviours including commercialisation of sex and\nhaving unprotected sex with multiple sexual partners. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>South Africa is home to the largest and most established crystal drug consumption market in East and Southern Africa. New Global Initiative against Transnational Organised Crime research has found that crystal drug consumption is far more widespread and has markets far better established across the region than previously understood. <\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Are crystal drugs popular in South Africa? Reach out now, we can help Home \/ Are crystal drugs popular in South Africa? 24 June, 2022Articles, News Crystal drugs (colloquially known as &ldquo;tik&rdquo;) is used by and very popular amongst the emerging working class in South Africa. Crystal drugs, the most widely used synthetic drug globally, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9493,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-articles","entry"],"featured_image_urls_v2":{"full":["https:\/\/ssdev.co.za\/crossroads-old\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/meth.jpg",500,335,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/ssdev.co.za\/crossroads-old\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/meth-80x80.jpg",80,80,true],"medium":["https:\/\/ssdev.co.za\/crossroads-old\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/meth-300x201.jpg",300,201,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/ssdev.co.za\/crossroads-old\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/meth.jpg",500,335,false],"large":["https:\/\/ssdev.co.za\/crossroads-old\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/meth.jpg",500,335,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/ssdev.co.za\/crossroads-old\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/meth.jpg",500,335,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/ssdev.co.za\/crossroads-old\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/meth.jpg",500,335,false],"alm-thumbnail":["https:\/\/ssdev.co.za\/crossroads-old\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/meth-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/ssdev.co.za\/crossroads-old\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/meth.jpg",500,335,false]},"post_excerpt_stackable_v2":"<p>Are crystal drugs popular in South Africa?Reach out now, we can helpHome \/ Are crystal drugs popular in South Africa?24 June, 2022Articles, News Crystal drugs (colloquially known as &ldquo;tik&rdquo;) is used by and very popular amongst the emerging working class in South Africa. Crystal drugs, the most widely used synthetic drug globally, has spread rapidly throughout the South African society, and has become very popular. It is a highly addictive synthetic drug that increases energy and feelings of euphoria. It is locally referred to as &ldquo;tik&rdquo; due to the &ldquo;ticking&rdquo; sound produced when smoked. Crystal drugs are perceived as the&hellip;<\/p>\n","category_list_v2":"<a href=\"https:\/\/ssdev.co.za\/crossroads-old\/category\/news\/\" rel=\"category tag\">News<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/ssdev.co.za\/crossroads-old\/category\/news\/articles\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Articles<\/a>","author_info_v2":{"name":"admin","url":"https:\/\/ssdev.co.za\/crossroads-old\/author\/admin\/"},"comments_num_v2":"0 comments","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ssdev.co.za\/crossroads-old\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ssdev.co.za\/crossroads-old\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ssdev.co.za\/crossroads-old\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ssdev.co.za\/crossroads-old\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ssdev.co.za\/crossroads-old\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12150"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ssdev.co.za\/crossroads-old\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12150\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ssdev.co.za\/crossroads-old\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ssdev.co.za\/crossroads-old\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ssdev.co.za\/crossroads-old\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ssdev.co.za\/crossroads-old\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}