Whoonga (or wonga), nyaope and sugars are South African street names for

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

.Heroin use has spread as prices plummet
Jesse Copelyn, ''GroundUp'', 9 October 2024SA is facing a fast-escalating heroin crisis — and it’s being misunderstood
Jesse Copelyn, ''Daily Maverick'', 17 April 2024Heroin hustles: Drugs and the laboring poor in South Africa
Mark Hunter, ''Social Science & Medicine'' Volume 265, November 2020Time for a rational response to the heroin epidemic
Imraan Buccus, ''IOl'', 30 October 2024 Heroin came into widespread use in South Africa in 2009 but the epidemic of heroin addiction has escalated since 2013 as prices have fallen rapidly in recent years. Heroin is primarily used by unemployed young men.

Usage

Heroin generates intense feelings of

euphoria Euphoria ( ) is the experience (or affect) of pleasure or excitement and intense feelings of well-being and happiness. Certain natural rewards and social activities, such as aerobic exercise, laughter, listening to or making music and da ...

, deep contentment, and relaxation. It also reduces appetite. Effects of may last two to four hours. The drug is usually inhaled after being warmed in a glass pipe but can be also smoked with

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

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- ...

, and also may be injected intravenously although this is rare.

Adverse effects

The effects of heroin typically wear off in 6 to 24 hours, followed by the onset of unpleasant side-effects. These include stomach cramps, backaches, sweating, chills,

anxiety Anxiety is an emotion characterised by an unpleasant state of inner wikt:turmoil, turmoil and includes feelings of dread over Anticipation, anticipated events. Anxiety is different from fear in that fear is defined as the emotional response ...

, restlessness, depression,

nausea Nausea is a diffuse sensation of unease and discomfort, sometimes perceived as an urge to vomit. It can be a debilitating symptom if prolonged and has been described as placing discomfort on the chest, abdomen, or back of the throat. Over 30 d ...

, and

diarrhea Diarrhea (American English), also spelled diarrhoea or diarrhœa (British English), is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements in a day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration d ...

. More serious side-effects include

internal bleeding Internal bleeding (also called internal haemorrhage) is a loss of blood from a blood vessel that collects inside the body, and is not usually visible from the outside. It can be a serious medical emergency but the extent of severity depends on b ...

, stomach ulcers, and potentially death.

Rehabs

While there are many rehabilitation centres for wealthy people struggling with addiction in South Africa there are very few facilities for the poor. Some have argued that people struggling with heroin addiction are treated as the 'undeserving poor' and subject to policing rather than medical interventions. In the populous province of

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

there are only two government rehab centres accessible by poor people.

Urban Legends

Many article in the South African media on 'whoonga', 'nyaope' or ‘sugars’ contain claims that have later been shown by scientific studies to be urban legends. Among others these urban legends include: Bluetoothing In early 2017, sensationalist media reports claimed that ‘nyaope’ users shared the drug-induced high through small

blood transfusion Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood products into a person's Circulatory system, circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used for various medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood. Early transfusions used ...

s, a practice supposedly called "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 li ...

wireless technology). The claim was untrue: the practice is not known on the street and physiologically could not achieve the claimed effect. Claims that 'whoonga' or 'nyaope' is made from anti-retrovirals, rat poison, etc. Sensationalist media reports have often claimed that ‘whoonga’ or ‘nyaope’ is a uniquely South African drug containing ingredients such as rat poison, anti-retroviral medication, and materials gleaned from the cathode tubes in stolen flat screen televisions.Ronelle Ramsamy
''Deadly Gamble''
. Zululand Observer, 2010 However scientific laboratory studies have shown these claims to be urban legends, and that 'whoonga' and 'nyapoe' are in fact simply heroin and do not contain ARV medication, rat poison, or chemicals from flat screen televisions.The Cytotoxic Effects of Nyaope, a Heroin-based Street Drug, in SH-SY5Y Neuroblastoma Cells
Willie M.U. Daniels, Matome M. Sekhotha, Nirvana Morgan, Ashmeetha Manilall, IBRO Neuroscience Reports Volume 16, June 2024, Pages 280-290 According to researcher Jesse Copelyn it "has been shown "that media accounts that frame nyaope as a new and exotic drug are misleading" and "have obscured the fact that South Africa simply has a major heroin crisis". Systemic Criminality It is often said that all or most users sustain their addiction via crime, however academic Mark Hunter shows that the majority work for extremely low pay, often for other poor people.

Stigma

Heroin users are often referred to as 'amaparas' a term that researchers say is a dehumanizing and derogatory term that implies worthlessness and criminality perpetuating marginalization and discrimination and preventing an understanding of the addiction crisis as a medical issue and addicts as people requiring social support.

Usage

Adverse effects

Rehabs

Urban Legends

Stigma

References

Further reading