Nicki Padayachee

A rave drug is taking the country by storm – because it can be made from common household products in an ordinary kitchen.

But Methcathinone – popularly known as cat – contains Chromium Six, the subject of Hollywood hit Erin Brockovich, which causes liver and kidney failure and lung cancer.

The highly addictive drug, which comes in a powdered form, hit South African shores last year, and has since overtaken ecstasy as the drug of choice for ravers.

Now drug counsellors are reporting more and more cases of cat patients – and police are raiding cat “factories” to try to clamp down on the drug before it spirals out of control.

Said Dr Charles Perkel, a Johannesburg psychiatrist who specialises in drug rehabilitation: “Ecstasy used to be the drug of the moment but cat is now taking its place”.

Perkel said that cat constricted the cerebral arteries and caused long-term structural changes in the brain. “It’s very, very scary,” he said.

Now drug counsellors are reporting more and more cases of cat patients – and police are raiding cat “factories” to try to clamp down on the drug before it spirals out of control.

Said Dr Charles Perkel, a Johannesburg psychiatrist who specialises in drug rehabilitation: “Ecstasy used to be the drug of the moment but cat is now taking its place”.

Perkel said that cat constricted the cerebral arteries and caused long-term structural changes in the brain. “It’s very, very scary,” he said.

Another drug counsellor, Judith van der Westhuizen from the Elam Clinic in Kempton Park, said all her centre’s patients in the last 12 months had used cat. The centre treats about 12 addicts every month.

“Lots of them use it with cocaine. They have terrible sinus problems, which lead to headaches and ear infections,” she said.

Superintendent André Koch of the Police Forensic Unit said the drug was fast becoming a problem. He said police had already raided four illegal cat factories this year.

“It is prevalent in Gauteng, Cape Town and the Durban area. We also found a factory in die Scottburgh area on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast, “ he said.

“It is fairly new in the country and goes hand in Another drug counsellor, Judith van der Westhuizen from the Elam Clinic in Kempton Park, said all her centre’s patients in the last 12 months had used cat. The centre treats about 12 addicts every month.

“Lots of them use it with cocaine. They have terrible sinus problems, which lead to headaches and ear infections,” she said.

Superintendent André Koch of the Police Forensic Unit said the drug was fast becoming a problem. He said police had already raided four illegal cat factories this year.

“It is prevalent in Gauteng, Cape Town and the Durban area. We also found a factory in die Scottburgh area on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast, “ he said.

“It is fairly new in the country and goes hand in hand with the rave scene. It is very easy to synthesise.”

Cat can be made in a kitchen using common household products. A gram costs about R4,00 to make and sells for a minimum of R250,00 a gram in nightclubs around the country.

Meanwhile, doctors told the Sunday Times that cat was lethal.

Cape Town trauma doctor Dr Kurt Minnie said the drug contained Chromium Six – a chemical that caused liver and kidney failure, hepatitis and lung cancer. Minnie said Chromium Six was the subject of Erin Brockovich, which told the story of a small US town where residents suffered from various cancers.

The residents received a $330-million settlement from the Pacific Gas & Electric Company, which was found to have contaminated the community’s drinking water with Chromium Six.

Consulting forensic scientist Dr David Klatzow said Chromium Six caused cancer and was toxic. He said it was absorbed into the bloodstream through the mucous membranes in the nose after the user “snorted” it.

Once it is in the blood, the drug travels to the brain where it interferes with the chemical functioning and nerve endings.

It also causes the over-production of adrenaline, which increases the user’s heart rate.

Cat is then processed by liver and excreted through the kidneys. This, said Klatzow, could cause possible liver and kidney damage.

“It is many orders of magnitude more toxic than alcohol,” he said.

YOUNG WOMAN IS ‘CATS’S FIRST VICTIM

Nicki Padayachee

A 20-year-old woman from Cape Town became cat’s first South African victim when she died after taking a lethal dose of the drug at a rave in the city two months ago.

Paramedic Craig Northmore said he found the semi-conscious woman after being called to a rave one night in August.

“She was unresponsive and her heart rate was 170 beats a minute. A heart rate if between 60 and 100 beats a minute is acceptable.

Her heart rate then escalated to 220 beats a minute.

Northmore said the young woman’s friends told him that she had taken cat to “calm down” after hallucinating on ecstasy and LSD.

“She was hallucinating terribly and a friend suggested that she take some cat to calm down. She then snorted about half a gram of the stuff.

The drug caused her heart rate to spiral out of control.

After being treated by Northmore, the woman was admitted to hospital where she was given the hospital’s entire supply – 30 times the regular dose – of a drug used to reduce the heart rate of patients with heart disease.

It had no effect and the woman died of heart failure.

Northmore said cat was fast becoming a problem in the Mother City. “We are seeing this now on a daily basis. The drug scene in Cape Town is getting out of hand,” he said.

How well do I read? Read one of the articles out loud.

Figure 1

Discuss your rating with your friend.

Compare assessments

FOR THE BRAVE!

Briefly summarise the main ideas of the longer article by means of a mind map.

SPELLING 1

Match the –ery or –ary endings to the beginnings of these words.

Figure 2

Use a reliable dictionary when checking your answers!

Rewrite these words in two columns, placing the words with similar endings together.

SPELLING 2: EPONYMS

Eponyms are words that have originated from people’s names or the names of places. Select ten of these words and find out how they came about.

ampere; boycott; Braille; caesarean; cardigan; diesel; dunce; Ferris wheel; guillotine; guy; hooligan; leotard; Levis; mackintosh; Morse code; pasteurise; Pavlova; sandwich; saxophone; teddy; valentine; volts; wellingtons

SPELLING 3

Languages borrow words from one another – explain the meanings of these words and use them appropriately.

List another five words below, taken from other languages.

Note: Use a reliable dictionary to find the country of origin of these words.

SOLVE THIS ONE!

Read the headlines carefully.

These headlines have been printed at regular intervals, all relating to the same mystery.

Figure 3

Prepare a 60 – 90 second talk based on what you believe to be the story behind this mystery.

Use your initiative and touch on the following:

OR

Find a news cartoon (not a comic strip); research the story behind the sketch. Briefly tell the background to the illustration.

SEE IT FROM BOTH SIDES

In your groups discuss the following statement carefully. Try to see the situation from both sides – the reporter’s and the public’s. Allow one person to give feedback to the rest of the class on behalf of your group.

Remember the following about group discussions:

“Newspapers should have the right to publish any news item, irrespective of the damage it may cause.”