Whoonga (also known as nyaope
or wonga) is a form of
black tar heroin
Black tar heroin is a form of heroin that is sticky like tar or hard like coal. Its dark color is the result of crude processing methods that leave behind impurities. Despite its name, black tar heroin can also be dark orange or dark brown in ap ...
, sometimes mixed with other substances, that came into widespread use in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
in 2009. Its use is concentrated in the impoverished
townships
A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries.
Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...
of
Durban
Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...
, although it is supposedly appearing in other places in South Africa as well.
Whoonga dealers will often sell the drug as a super-powerful
marijuana blend. Dealers
add powdered substances to the mix to bulk up the size, profiting more from sale of the diluted drug. Additives range from actual
pharmaceutical drug
A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field an ...
s and cleaning chemicals to any powder-based substance that can be found. Whoonga/nayope is very addictive because of its heroin content as well as from the uncertainty of the type of any cutting additives.
Whoonga is sometimes said to contain
antiretroviral drugs, particularly
efavirenz, which are prescribed to treat HIV, but analysis of samples shows no such content, and police have remarked that dealers are known to add "all sorts of stuff" to a drug to bulk it out. This adulteration was the subject of ''Getting High on HIV Medication'', a 2014 documentary video by ''
Vice
A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character t ...
'' correspondent
Hamilton Morris. The first scientific publications of whoonga use containing ARVs were in 2013 and 2014.
Usage
Whoonga is a
recreational drug. It generates intense feelings of
euphoria, deep contentment, and relaxation. It also reduces
appetite. Effects of whoonga may last two to four hours. The drug is usually smoked with
cannabis
''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternative ...
in the form of a
joint
A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw- ...
,
but methods of preparation for
injection
Injection or injected may refer to:
Science and technology
* Injective function, a mathematical function mapping distinct arguments to distinct values
* Injection (medicine), insertion of liquid into the body with a syringe
* Injection, in broadca ...
do exist.
The cost of whoonga is reported to be about 30
rand
The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is finan ...
(Approximately US$2.50, as of April 2018) per straw.
A whoonga addict needs several doses a day;
however, users are typically too poor to afford the drug from legal income, and so turn to crime to raise the money for their supply. There are also speculative reports that whoonga addicts are attempting to become
HIV-positive
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immun ...
, as
anti-retroviral
The management of HIV/AIDS normally includes the use of multiple antiretroviral drugs as a strategy to control HIV infection. There are several classes of antiretroviral agents that act on different stages of the HIV life-cycle. The use of multip ...
s are distributed to
HIV
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...
patients free of charge by the
South African Department of Health
The Department of Health is the executive department of the national government that is assigned to oversee healthcare in South Africa.
The Office for Health Standards and Compliance was established in 2014.
History
In 1910, when the Union o ...
.
In early 2017, a growing trend of sharing the drug-induced high through small
blood transfusion
Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood products into a person's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used for various medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood. Early transfusions used whole blood, but mo ...
s was identified by local media in a practice known as "bluetoothing" (from the
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...
wireless technology). In reality, such a blood sample could not contain an active quantity of the drug, and the practice is virtually unheard of on the street.
Adverse effects
The effects of whoonga typically wear off in 6 to 24 hours, allowing for the onset of unpleasant side-effects.
These include stomach cramps, backaches, sweating, chills,
anxiety
Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...
, restlessness, depression,
nausea
Nausea is a diffuse sensation of unease and discomfort, sometimes perceived as an urge to vomit. While not painful, it can be a debilitating symptom if prolonged and has been described as placing discomfort on the chest, abdomen, or back of the ...
, and
diarrhea
Diarrhea, also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements each day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration due to fluid loss. Signs of dehydration often begin w ...
.
More serious side-effects include
internal bleeding
Internal bleeding (also called internal hemorrhage) is a loss of blood from a blood vessel that collects inside the body. Internal bleeding is usually not visible from the outside. It is a serious medical emergency but the extent of severity dep ...
,
stomach ulcer
The stomach is a muscular, hollow organ in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and many other animals, including several invertebrates. The stomach has a dilated structure and functions as a vital organ in the digestive system. The stomach i ...
s, and potentially death.
Contested claims of anti-retroviral content
Whoonga is famous for allegedly containing
antiretroviral drug
The management of HIV/AIDS normally includes the use of multiple antiretroviral drugs as a strategy to control HIV infection. There are several classes of antiretroviral agents that act on different stages of the HIV life-cycle. The use of multi ...
s prescribed for HIV,
[Ronelle Ramsamy]
''Deadly Gamble''
. Zululand Observer, 2010 but its exact ingredients are disputed, and it has been argued that the claim is an
urban legend
An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...
.
One version of the claim is that whoonga contains classic
psychoactive drug
A psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, psychoactive agent or psychotropic drug is a chemical substance, that changes functions of the nervous system, and results in alterations in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition or behavior. ...
s such as cannabis,
methamphetamine or
heroin potentiated by interactions with
ritonavir
Ritonavir, sold under the brand name Norvir, is an antiretroviral drug used along with other medications to treat HIV/AIDS. This combination treatment is known as highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Ritonavir is a protease inhibitor ...
, an antiretroviral medication used to treat HIV/
AIDS that is thought to enhance or prolong the effects of some
street drug
Recreational drug use indicates the use of one or more psychoactive drugs to induce an altered state of consciousness either for pleasure or for some other casual purpose or pastime by modifying the perceptions and emotions of the user. When a ...
s, such as
MDMA
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), commonly seen in tablet form (ecstasy) and crystal form (molly or mandy), is a potent empathogen–entactogen with stimulant properties primarily used for recreational purposes. The desire ...
.
Another claim is that the drug contains
efavirenz (alone or with the ingredients mentioned above), another antiretroviral which has
psychoactive side effects. Dr. David Grelotti has noted that efavirenz has a "well-known tendency to cause especially vivid and colorful dreams and other
central nervous system
The central nervous system (CNS) is the part of the nervous system consisting primarily of the brain and spinal cord. The CNS is so named because the brain integrates the received information and coordinates and influences the activity of all p ...
effects. Hypothetically, that could enhance the effects of cannabis,
methamphetamine, heroin, and other illicit drugs."
AIDS experts point out that the ingredients of anti-retroviral drugs are unlikely to cause the whoonga high, and users may thus be fooling themselves.
A laboratory analysis of samples of whoonga failed to detect any anti-retroviral drugs in its makeup,
and a medical scientist who has analysed the contents of the drug concluded that it does not contain AIDS anti-retroviral medication.
According to some experts of the
South African Police Service
The South African Police Service (SAPS) is the national police force of the Republic of South Africa. Its 1,154 police stations in South Africa are divided according to the provincial borders, and a Provincial Commissioner is appointed in ea ...
and drug rehabilitation centres, whoonga is essentially just a rebranding of older heroin-based drugs.
A member of the South African police's Organised Crime Unit said that "drug dealers add all sorts of stuff to the heroin, the primary ingredient, just to increase the mass of the drug when it's sold and make the heroin go further. A lot of the stuff has no effect and users have no idea what's going in."
The anti-retroviral drugs allegedly used to make whoonga are those distributed in the area to patients with HIV who are enrolled in government
drug rehabilitation
Drug rehabilitation is the process of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and street drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, heroin or amphetamines. The general intent i ...
projects. The claimed major source of these anti-retrovirals appears to be
robbery from HIV patients, with media reports claiming that patients are being mugged for their pills as they leave the clinics where they obtain them. Reports also claim that some patients sell their HIV medications, and that some corrupt health workers may be selling the anti-retrovirals illegally back into the whoonga market.
A
Harvard School of Public Health
The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is the public health school of Harvard University, located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. The school grew out of the Harvard- MIT School for Health Officers, the nation's firs ...
researcher has expressed concern that people with HIV who smoke whoonga may develop mutant strains of the virus which are resistant to the medication.
HIV
drug resistance
Drug resistance is the reduction in effectiveness of a medication such as an antimicrobial or an antineoplastic in treating a disease or condition. The term is used in the context of resistance that pathogens or cancers have "acquired", that is ...
is growing due to recreational use of efavirenz and ritonavir, rendering them ineffective not only for users but non-users as well,
with one study showing that 3% to 5% of people with HIV in areas where whoonga was used were showing "pre-treatment resistance" to antiretroviral drugs used to treat HIV.
Legal status
As of February 2013, the South African
Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development is the justice department of the South African government. The department provides administrative and financial support to the court system and the judiciary (which are constitutionally indep ...
was in the process of amending the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act 140 of 1992 to ban the possession and trafficking of the drug.
See also
*
Gray death
References
Further Reading
*
{{HIV and AIDS
Antiretroviral drugs
Crime in South Africa
Drug culture
Culture of Durban
History of South Africa
Slang
South African slang
Polysubstance combinations