It’s unlikely that you’ll reach adulthood without encountering some recreational drug use – at a festival, in clubs or at a friend’s house. Even if you’ve never touched the stuff, you probably know someone who has ‘dabbled’.

If you’re lucky, you’ll never come across nyaope –  a drug that uses heroin as a base and then combines it with rat poison and antiretrovirals, which can then be smoked or injected.

The drug came into use in South Africa around 2010. It’s a particularly destructive, highly addictive street drug and users are unlikely to get out of their addiction alive.

BBC Africa Eye crime reporter Golden Mtika explored the problem – a problem that has affected his family directly – through the story of an addict called Jesus, who somehow managed to survive the drug.

You can watch his story here:

That’s some tough living right there.

You can see the full 27-minute BBC Africa doccie below:

If you or someone you know suffers from drug or alcohol dependency, help is at hand HERE.

[source:bbc]