We don’t have money to buy drugs – Shock as CT drug addicts smoke HIV pills (ARVs) to get high

Drug addicts from Philippi, Browns Farm in Cape Town are robbing residents of their ARVs so that they can smoke.

Speaking to the publication they said they are robbing patients of their ARVs because they cannot afford expensive drugs. “We do not have money to buy drugs. The people we used to steal from have lost their jobs. That’s why we’ve opted for ARVs,” said one drug addict.

According to them, street kids are prioritized when visiting the clinics.

“We visit the clinic pretending to be sick. We know clinic staff members will treat us first. While we are waiting in the reception, we get to see who is there to collect ARVs,” he said.

While the addicts are inside the clinic, the other ones wait outside.

“We go out as soon as the patients get their ARVs to alert those waiting outside. They then follow them and take the ARVs,” he said.

They smash the pills and mix them with cigarettes.

“This is the only thing that can make us high now.”

The addict said they usually fight when they don’t get enough ARVs.

“We’ve decided to inject the most addicted one among us then we inject ourselves with their blood to get high,” he said.

When asked if they are not afraid of getting sick from sharing blood, he said: “If one of us is HIV positive we know we won’t get sick because we are already taking ARVs. The difference is that we don’t take them with water but we smash them.”

These drug addicts said they’d like to apologize to the people they’ve robbed.

“We know we are troubling them by stealing their ARVs but there’s nothing we can do because we also need them,” said another addict.

He urged young people to listen to their parents and not get into drugs.

“We are here because when our parents showed us the right way, we thought we knew everything. We are here because we listened to bad friends,” he said.

A resident said he hoped the addicts would get help.

“I have hope now that Daily Sun has visited them they will get the help they need. It’s not too late to change their lives,” said the resident.

Western Cape health spokeswoman Monique Johnstone confirms that complainants were received about patients being robbed of their ARVs after leaving the Inzame Zabantu Community Day Centre in Browns Farm.

“These patients’ medication was replaced after presenting an affidavit at the facility. Johnstone said the department does not condone this criminal behaviour as ARVs are important in helping patients diagnosed with HIV fight off life-threatening infections,” she said.

-daily sun

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