Tik Abuse The Unrelenting Drug Affliction

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WORDS David Transier

The meth pipe, also referred to as a lollie, is the most common tool used to consume crystal meth. Photo: Michelle Irish/flickr

Tik, the local name for crystal methamphetamine, is an addictive central nervous system stimulant ruining the lives of thousands on the Cape Flats of the Western Cape. In fact, Ashley Potts from the Cape Town Drug Counselling Centre (CTDCC) says that on average in 2013, 20% of school-going youth were actively using crystal meth. Most of the tik consumed in the townships is produced in local laboratories, with the main ingredient ephedrine, supplied by dealers or by the Chinese triads. It is possible to swallow or sniff the drug, but normally it is smoked in a glass pipe that addicts refer to as a ‘lollie.’ The dealers sell it in small straws and charge anything between R30 and R50 per straw, but tik addicts on a comedown may, out of desperation pay up to R150. In 2003–2004, the drug was practically unknown with only 1% of drug addicts using crystal meth. But times have changed. In fact, crystal meth was the most popular drug in Cape Town in 2014, with 28% of people using it, followed by dagga at 21% and alcohol at 20% as the primary drug of choice. This is a shocking trend, but what compounds the situation is that many addicts, especially crystal meth addicts, are also responsible for a high number of violent crimes, sexually transmitted diseases and dropout rates. Official police statistics say that drug-related crimes have risen by 31% from 2003 (62,689) to 2014 (82,062).

Side effects of habitual consumption

The daily consumption of tik can cause insomnia and result in confusion, hallucinations as well as psychosis. There are known cases of people killing themselves or others after suffering from intense hallucinations. Another side effect is the loss of appetite resulting in a lack of minerals and vitamins in the body. This can further result in the decaying of not only one’s teeth, but can even lead to organ dysfunction and even death.

The pictures above shows how a woman changed over ten years while consuming crystal meth. The woman was approximately 28 years old when the first picture was taken. Photo: Don Hankins/flickr

I spoke to Cathy Karassellos, a psychologist at the Cape Town Drug and Counselling Centre about the damage tik does to the human body. She told me that the drug not only destroys an addict’s body but that ‘tik and dagga are the two drugs most likely to trigger psychosis if someone has a predisposition to it.’ She added that long-term users, often suffer from depression too, ‘Tik users lose a lifetime supply of dopamine in only one year.’ Karassellos explained that for some addicts it’s nearly impossible to get away from the drug. ‘It’s the duty of family and friends to support their loved ones, sometimes indefinitely. But luckily there are special programmes for them too,’ says Karassellos.

An addict’s story

Research shows that many people do not start using crystal meth because of the ‘high’ it gives, but rather as a result of the environment they grow up in. They get in touch with the drug at a very young age when they are easy to manipulate, especially because the drug is consumed by older friends, family members or neighbours. At a youth detention centre on the outskirts of Cape Town, I spoke to *Ben about his life and especially about the relationship he had with drugs. Ben grew up in a township and started smoking weed when he was only 10 years old because he saw older boys doing it and wanted to know what it felt like. He asked the older boys for a puff and sadly they just passed the drug to him to smoke. Later on, when he was about 14 or 15 he started doing crystal meth and mandrax. In Ben’s opinion, many people start doing drugs because they have nothing else to do and have a lack of perspective. In an area where the unemployment rate is as high as 40% and kids have to walk far distances to school every day, it’s not too hard to believe. Ben also told me that in a poor environment ravaged by crime, the dealers are the ones with the money and they become idols to many. Nevertheless, Ben regrets abusing drugs. When asked what he’d do differently, he said: ‘People should never start doing drugs because the world would be a much safer and friendlier place without drugs.’

*Ben is a fictional name

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