Friday, July 14, 2006

Concern about drug abuse leads to book

IN HIS 23 years as an East London policeman, Michael Potgieter has witnessed first hand the degradation caused by drug abuse especially among the youth. And the contact with concerned East London parents in the execution of his police duties, about their childrens drug problems, inspired him to write a book about the local drug scene entitled What teens and parents should know about drugs. Michael, 42, is a police official at the Cambridge Police Station. South Africa, he said, continues to experience increased levels of substance abuse, and the age of first experimentation with drugs has dropped to between nine and 10 years. The lines between use, overuse, and abuse are often blurry. Michael has had the opportunity of witnessing severe cases of drug abuse: young children who turn to drugs because of perceived trouble fitting into society, brought on by the fast and furious pace of modern life.

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