{"id":3913,"date":"2026-05-26T11:54:39","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T11:54:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/servamusmagazine.co.za\/new\/?p=3913"},"modified":"2026-05-26T11:56:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T11:56:23","slug":"drugs-hurt-families-and-communities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/servamusmagazine.co.za\/new\/drugs-hurt-families-and-communities\/","title":{"rendered":"Drugs hurt families and communities"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"3913\" class=\"elementor elementor-3913\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-b1cc767 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"b1cc767\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-afe7e3b\" data-id=\"afe7e3b\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-16dd064 elementor-align-right elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"16dd064\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm\" href=\"https:\/\/servamusmagazine.co.za\/new\/product\/drugs-hurt-families-and-communities\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">buy this article<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-f3405d4 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"f3405d4\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-7c0102da\" data-id=\"7c0102da\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-402d209d elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"402d209d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>By Kotie Geldenhuys <\/strong><br \/><strong>Photos courtesy of Tladi Moloi (GroundUp) and Pexels<\/strong><\/p><p>Substance abuse has emerged as a deepening crisis in South Africa, cutting across social and geographic divides. From major cities to rural areas, drug addiction is taking a visible toll on families, schools and workplaces. With millions grappling with dependency, this problem strains people&#8217;s lives and the stability of entire communities. In some cases, it prompts public protests as residents take to the streets to demand action.<\/p><p>The drug crisis extends far beyond personal health, undermining social structures and contributing to rising levels of crime and instability. At an individual level, substance abuse often leads to severe physical and mental health complications. However, its ripple effects are felt within families, where relationships are strained or broken and across communities already grappling with economic and social pressures. The widespread misuse of both illegal substances and prescription drugs highlights the scale and complexity of the issue (Houston, 2023).<\/p><p>Globally, drug abuse has been linked to millions of deaths and significant social damage. It is a key driver of criminal activity and continues to erode the social fabric of communities, making it a major concern for governments and international organisations alike.<\/p><p>**************************<\/p><p>[This is only an extract of an article published in Servamus: June 2026. This article is available for\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/servamusmagazine.co.za\/new\/product\/drugs-hurt-families-and-communities\/\">purchase<\/a>.]<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>buy this article By Kotie Geldenhuys Photos courtesy of Tladi Moloi (GroundUp) and Pexels Substance abuse has emerged as a deepening crisis in South Africa, cutting across social and geographic divides. From major cities to rural areas, drug addiction is taking a visible toll on families, schools and workplaces. With millions grappling with dependency, this [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[213],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-servamus-jun-26"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/servamusmagazine.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/servamusmagazine.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/servamusmagazine.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/servamusmagazine.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/servamusmagazine.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3913"}],"version-history":[{"count":56,"href":"https:\/\/servamusmagazine.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3913\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6454,"href":"https:\/\/servamusmagazine.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3913\/revisions\/6454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/servamusmagazine.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/servamusmagazine.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/servamusmagazine.co.za\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}