The alarming rise in alcohol and drug abuse among young people By Nash Mohlala

Alcohol is one of the liquids regarded to be drunken by people over age of 18, but at Ga-Maila Mapitsane is a different story. South African law clearly states that whoever consumes or buy alcohol should be over the age of 18. These young people in the community are doing this too please themselves. People as young as 13-14 are found roaming around with alcohol bottles in the street, and at other the hand you will find them puffing dagga in public.

One of the dangerous things here is this people who are smoking dagga that is illegal in our country. In our country if found smoking dagga you will be jailed and serve a sentence for you did. At young age that they are, it poses great danger to their future.
As finding a young person at a local tavern or bottle store drinking alcohol and puffing illegal substances are common, and then I ask them what their future plans are. Some said that they are enjoying their youth day the way they like to, they also said that they could not plan about something that they are not sure about them.

As my investigation progressed I found out that there are other reasons behind this,
Which are:-

Peer Pressure

This is one of the biggest challenges among the young people in the community. Some say they had friends whom drink and smoke, so it is get difficult to socialize with them because they spend most of their time drinking and smoking.

Poverty

Some of young people have difficult backgrounds in terms of lack of food at home and find smoking dagga as something of reducing stress. Drinking some of traditional beer as they can make themselves and because it is cheap

Many Taverns

There are a lot of taverns in the community than churches, of which makes a huge competition of which sells enough than other .having many tavern makes most of the young people to engage in drinking and smoking as this is seen as a fashion of modern life.

Environment

Most of taverns owner do not mind to sell alcohol to under age, and that make it easy for them to consume alcohol