Anti-retroviral drugs used to treat HIV/AIDS are being bought and smoked by teenagers in South Africa to get high

Reports suggest that the drugs are being sold by patients and even health care staff for money. Schoolchildren have been spotted smoking the drugs, which are ground into powder and sometimes mixed with painkillers or marijuana. AIDS patients themselves have been found smoking the drugs instead of taking them as prescribed. Anti-retrovirals are used to boost the immune system of people with HIV and to suppress the virus in the blood. "I couldn't believe it. I was shocked at first, these were school boys in their school uniforms," said documentary-maker Tooli Nhlapo. "They take a pill and grind it, until it is a powder. Some also mix it with painkillers and others mix it with marijuana," said Ms Nhlapo. "They showed me how they roll it and smoke it."

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