Download PDFSubstance abuse refers to the harmful use of alcohol, drugs, or other chemicals in ways that damage a person’s health, relationships, work, and safety. Substance abuse can be caused by many factors, including mental health challenges, genetics, family history, personality, peer pressure, grief after losing loved ones, family environment, unemployment, poverty, gender-based violence (GBV), gang violence, stress, and the easy availability of drugs.
Poverty, in particular, often leaves people feeling hopeless and without purpose in life. According to the South African Medical Research Council, harmful alcohol and drug use contributes significantly to injuries, violence, mental illness, infectious diseases, and premature deaths. Research also shows that many people who need treatment for substance use disorders are unable to access it because of limited services and stigma. In the Eldorado Park communities, there is still a lot of stigma around substance abuse and blame towards the abusers, this contributes to substance abusers being treated as criminals rather than people who are ill.
The conclusion is clear: substance abuse is not only a criminal issue, but also a public health issue with deep social roots. You cannot treat the drug problem without addressing the conditions that make drug use seem like an escape or solution. Communities with high levels of unemployment, poverty, violence, and poor access to services often experience higher levels of harmful substance use because these social conditions affect people’s health and well-being.
Many young people struggling with substance abuse are abandoned by their families and forced to survive on their own. Substance abuse harms not only the individual but also the people around them.
It contributes to family breakdown, poor mental health, school drop-outs, unemployment, and increased pressure on healthcare services. However, communities do not always look at the root causes or try to intervene in ways that provide support and healing. “A new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) highlights that 2.6 million deaths per year were attributable to alcohol consumption, accounting for 4.7% of all deaths, and 0.6 million deaths to psychoactive drug use.” which is more pressing that substance abuse be treated as a health issue and health services be provided for those affected to prevent unnecessary deaths from overdose, violence and spreading of diseases through sharing needles.
Claudia Stevens (36), aunt to a substance user who was eventually thrown out of the family home because of stealing and harmful drug use around children, shared her view. She said, “When substance abuse is treated only as a crime and mob justice becomes the response when crimes are committed by users, the consequences appear everywhere. Schools lose teachers to violent students, clinics face diseases that are difficult to prevent, and families lose children to overdoses or jail cells. The cycle repeats because nothing in the person’s life changes except their criminal record.”
Some community members, however, disagree that substance abuse should be treated as a health issue. Elderly mothers who have struggled for years with children who use drugs argue that many users choose this life for themselves. They believe users must also choose to leave these situations because substance abuse causes stress, pain, and embarrassment for families and communities.
Everyone has a right to their own opinion because, although situations may appear similar, circumstances differ from person to person. However, communities need solutions that can work for everyone while helping and empowering young people to live healthier and more productive lives. This includes expanding access to mental health services, substance abuse treatment programmes, counselling, employment opportunities, and community support. Prevention is just as important as treatment.
At the end of it all, many people can agree that treating substance abuse as a health issue does not excuse harmful behaviour or criminal acts. Instead, it recognises that behaviour often has underlying causes, and those causes can and should be addressed through public health and social support systems. Supporting people to recover from substance abuse not only improves individual health but also strengthens families, reduces violence, and builds healthier communities.
This article was submitted on 10 May 2026. You may republish this article, so long as you credit the authors and Karibu! Online (www.Karibu.org.za), and do not change the text. Please include a link back to the original article.
