The industry and its devastating impact have been largely ignored or misunderstood by police and government. Research has found widespread and problematic use of heroin in South Africa’s small towns, big cities and rural areas. The illicit trade in the opioid drug may have an annual cash turnover of billions of rands. But the rapid emergence of this thriving industry and its national importance have been largely ignored or misunderstood by police and government. The new

South African learners turn to anti-anxiety medication to manage stress but punishment remains the state’s primary intervention, writes Mark Hunter for the social justice publication New Frame. In July and August, he spoke with 39 groups of learners at 15 high schools across South Durban, and found the same two top drugs at schools: cannabis and Xanax. In another comprehensive article this week, New Frame’s Nation Nyoka writes that trauma is often the gateway ‘drug’ that puts