In early 2003 Commissioner of Police Jackie Selebi announced the closure of the South African Narcotics Bureau, along with other specialist police units. Superintendent Doep du Plessis, the commander of SANAB, told Rapport that "This is a joyful day for drug dealers and a black day for the community."

Five years on, the World Drug Report 2008, recently released by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), provides a great deal of evidence to support that contention. According to the report South Africa is not only a major exporter of cannabis but now an important transhipment route for cocaine. The country is also seeing a massive increase in domestic usage of hard drugs such as cocaine, heroine, and methamphetamine - all of which were once almost unknown in the country.

The report notes that the "most striking new trend in cocaine trafficking in recent years has been the rising importance of Africa, notably of West and Central Africa, as a transit area for cocaine shipments to Europe. Seizures made in Africa rose from less than 1 mt over the 1998-2002 period to 15 mt in 2006."

According to UNODC's database of individual drug seizures "out of the total number cocaine seizures made in Europe in 2007 (where the ‘origin' had been identified), 22% had been smuggled via Africa to Europe, up from 12% in 2006 and 5% in 2004."

The report notes that as Africa has become an important transhipment route for cocaine, there has been a concomitant increase in cocaine use across the continent - especially in western and southern Africa.

According to South African Community Epidemiology Network on Drug Use (SACENDU) data from treatment centres in Cape Town, Gauteng (Pretoria and Johannesburg), Durban, Port Elizabeth, East London and Mpumalanga there has been a rapid increase in consumption of the drug over the past few years.

"Cocaine (and/or crack-cocaine) related treatment demand - expressed as an unweighted average of the proportions of patients found in treatment for cocaine abuse in the six sites mentioned above - rose from less than 2 % in 1996 to 6.5% in 2000. In the first two quarters of 2007, around 10 % of all treatment demand, including alcohol, was due to cocaine and/or crack-cocaine use. Excluding alcohol, the (unweighted) proportion would have amounted to some 18%."

"The highest proportions of treatment related to cocaine and/or crack-cocaine abuse over the first two quarters of 2007 were reported from the Eastern Cape province, which also includes the towns of Port Elizabeth and East London (14% of all treatment including alcohol), followed by Gauteng (13%)."

There has also been a massive increase in Heroine use over the past few years. Citing data from the (SACENDU) the report states that "Heroin accounted for less than 1% of treatment demand (including alcohol) in South Africa in 1996. By 2006 this proportion increased to 7%, and by the first two quarters of 2007 to 8.5%."

The report notes a rapid increase in the use of methamphetamine (‘tik') in South Africa. "Accounting for less than 1% of all substance related treatment demand, until the end of 2002, treatment for methamphetamine as a proportion of total treatment in Cape Town rose to 15% in 2004, 30% in 2005, before stabilising at 40% in 2006 and 41% in the first six months of 2007. While the rate of increase in Cape Town has slowed, evidence suggests that use is spreading to other areas. Increases in the proportion of treatment demand for methamphetamine have been reported in treatment centres in Pretoria, and are emerging in Durban."

According to the report the number of "dismantled clandestine methamphetamine laboratories in South Africa increased 55% from 2005 to 2006, with 17 reported to UNODC."

"South Africa, is one of the world's largest importers of licit ephedrine and pseudoephedrine. In 2006, South Africa legally imported 7.2 mt of ephedrine and 9.7 mt of pseudoephedrine."

South Africa remains an important exporter of Cannabis (dagga). The report notes, "Countries producing for export remain limited: a number of African countries (including South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana and Morocco) and few Asian countries (including Afghanistan, Pakistan and Kazakhstan)."

Cannabis is exported from southern Africa "to West and Central Europe" and, to a lesser extent, to East Asia as well.

"The largest proportion of cannabis herb production in South America (10,000 mt) takes place in Paraguay (5,900 mt), followed at lower levels by Colombia, Brazil (for the domestic market only), the Caribbean region (notably St. Vincent & the Grenadines and Jamaica) and Central America (notably Guatemala). In Africa (8,900 mt), where cannabis herb production takes place in almost every country, the largest producers include South Africa (2,500 mt) followed in the region by Malawi, Zambia and Swaziland."

Of the 16,300 people who sought treatment for drug abuse in South Africa in 2006, 32.7% cannabis, 17.5% for Heroin, 17.5% for Cocaine, 26.9% for Methamphetamines (Tik), and 5.3% for Mandrax.