'Whoonga' A Threat To South African HIV Patients

TOXIC: Rat Poison And HIV Drug Combination Plagues South Africa

HIV patients in the South African township of Umlazi live in fear of being robbed of their live-saving anti-retroviral drugs.

They have become attractive targets for gangs who steal their pills, which are then combined with detergent powder and rat poison to make "whoonga" - a highly toxic and addictive street drug.

Smokers use it to lace joints, believing the anti-retroviral Stocrin increases the hallucinogenic effects of marijuana - though there is no scientific proof of this.

The threat to HIV patients in this poor community of KwaZulu-Natal province is very real.

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