Chair, hon Minister, hon members, like many other countries in the world, South Africa has been experiencing unprecedented levels of substance abuse among its people. Abuse of substances, including alcohol, has a significant negative social and economic impact on society and this Bill specifically responds to the need for a multisectoral co-ordinated effort by all three tiers of government and civil society to combat substance abuse.
Substance abuse disorders, much like HIV/Aids or diabetes, require social approaches to prevention and treatment, as well as medication and clinical interventions. The biological nature of substance abuse and the changes caused in the brain also make it, for most people, a chronic relapsing disorder.
Interventions for the treatment and prevention of substance abuse must therefore take this into consideration. Of course, substance dependence isn't something people suddenly catch, and early intervention is of critical importance.
The Bill provides for the registration of programmes, including treatment centres and halfway houses; for admission and release of persons from treatment centres; for early intervention, treatment and reintegration; and establishes a central drug authority which acts in an advisory capacity and monitors the implementation of the National Drug Master Plan.
This very important piece of legislation has passed through Parliament at an accelerated pace, with the portfolio committee and the department working late into the night and the early hours of the morning for weeks on end.
The ACDP sincerely hopes that this rushed but earnest attempt to address the concerns of stakeholders will go some way in responding to the challenges faced, as statistics on substance abuse continue to shock the nation and the consequences devastate lives and families.
The MRC studies show that in 2002, 45% of all non-natural deaths had high blood alcohol concentrations, particularly for transport-related deaths and homicides, and trauma patients follow the same trends. Tik, the new drug of choice for increasing numbers, has frighteningly fast addiction rates. Over 60% of all the patients treated in the second half of 2004 who used tik as their primary substance of abuse were under twenty years of age.
During hearings, one organisation working on the ground said that presently the floodgates had opened as drug cartels are operating with impunity owing to the controversy over the Scorpions and their disbandment. The ACDP will vote in favour of this Bill.