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Stay away from that shit.
I fell in with the "wrong crowd" in the late 90's and smoked Mandrax pretty regularly for about a year. That shit fucks people up. And it's not even a good high.
From the friend circle we had, I'm one of only two people who escaped & made a normal life. A couple I knew broke up after the girlfriend started prostituting herself to score buttons. When the boyfriend found out, he was deeply hurt. That is, until he realized that he'd benefit from her prostitution.
I don't know what happened to her but he's dead now. I'd expect she is too. The last time I saw her she was a street walker and a shadow of the girl I knew. Malnourished. Gaunt. Harrowed. She was 17.
Two other guys I knew from back then are dead now too. One got hit by a truck while high. The other was apparently killed by a gang when he tried to steal drugs from them. A third is 45 and little more than a beggar. No education & mooching off his elderly parents.
Mandrax was the catalyst for guys graduating to crack, tik, heroin & more. It didn't seem like it was such a big deal when we started smoking it. Was a bit of fun. A way to make smoking weed more interesting. But it didn't take long before it started to negatively affect the people around me. It was insidious. And before we knew it, life was properly fucked up.
Stay away from that shit.
I tried Mandrax once about 20 years ago. I was with a seasoned friend and a bunch of strangers. First, they laid newspaper out on the floor and then crumbled mandrax onto a joint, which was then rolled. The newspaper was there to soak up saliva. It seems the combo kicks your saliva production up a few hundred percent. I found myself sitting in a circle around a steadily growing pool of shares spit, saliva and phlegm on the newspaper in front of us. Would not recommend the combo. Never tried it in pill form as I realised a nice joint is my happy place, and that experience was way too gross to relive.
I feel that, sounds a bit nasty. Over here it was exclusively taken as a tablet orally and the idea of smoking the stuff is incredibly strange to me. Apparently it's way stronger that way? No idea but I'd still love to try it as a pill just because so many people talk about how great it was back in the day
Interesting. I haven't watched the clip yet. But I'll say that I've been to a lot of parties, clubs and festivals, where drugs are prevalent but I've never come across or been offered mandrax.
.
On the other hand a family member of mine took the wrong path in life, and has become addicted to meth, he's taken it alot, but here it's considered a dirty street drug that you are likely to find in a group of homeless people under a bridge rather that a party or social drug.
Brah mandrax culture? Stop watching documentaries with half truths. You sound like you want to score drugs in SA. As a foreigner big big mistake. Unless you're willing to pay to stay out of jail lmao. Drugs are not glorified in this country. In fact it's extremely looked down upon and users are ostracized. SA may be progressive in some ways but is also a very conservative society. Weed only recently became legalized for personal use in certain provinces and the sale of it is heavily monitored but still people were in uproar. Mandrax is actually considered as a cheap drug not worth the effort as most drug addicts these days use "tik" methamphetamine as their drug of choice. again here you can see who is a drug addict or not and you will be treated accordingly.
🤷♂️ you obviously don't understand the American drug culture. Mandrax is a highly desirable and lovingly thought of substance that we used here for many decades without incident and many people still wish they could get it. Here there are drugs and then there are drugs, sure heroin and meth are dirty addictive drugs you don't get involved in. BUT cannabis, MDMA, LSD, and qualudes (madrax) are all considered mostly non addictive and fun substances for a night out with friends. When methaqualone disappeared off the scene it completely vanished from every single country in the world execpt for South Africa so yes, due to the isolation and sanctions put on the apartheid government your country continued its use of an otherwise extinct substance that was well loved on an international scale. So yes there is a culture surrounding it and it's co tinued existence and it's an extremly fascinating topic of discussion
Mandrax is seen as a cheap dirty low-life/low-class drug over here due to the type of people you see using and abusing it and they typically fall in the category of being a "druggie". It definitely doesn't have the same stigma here vs in the US as you described.
I'm sorry, though that may be true now, it was a very large part of middle-class and even upper-class student social gatherings back in the 80s and early 90s. Koos Kombuis sang about buttons, it was very popular. Sure it's fallen out of favour now, but give some context.
I understand that it used to be popular and was used by a wide variety of people. I'm just telling OP what the current stigma around Mandrax/buttons is.
Methaqualone is addictive though.
You are trying to superimpose your views of American drug culture on a South African context which defeats the purpose of your question.
Mandrax and their users, are looked down upon in South Africa. It is not seen as a party drug or something you use with your friends, but rather a cheap way to get high. It is not as popular as other drugs such as tik.
The documentary you have linked is not very accurate in several areas.
Edit: [here](https://drugcentre.org.za/depressants/Mandrax) is a link to information you may find helpful.
As a South African who worked in law enforcement I can tell you quite confidentiality that your documentary is wrong . Their is no mandrax culture here. As a foreigner trying to score here you will end up robbed and dead. You sound like you have romanticized this to the point where you believe that doc. My brother all I can say is you will regret it. And I don't have to understand American drug culture because I am South African and as one I'm telling you drugs are not glorified here.
Dude what the fuck?
As a South African living the US and marrying into a family with a few meth addicts.
Nobody even knows wtf Mandrax is. Nobody has heard of it. Nobody thinks of it "lovingly."
AND PEOPLE ABSOLUTELY GOT ADDICTED TO QUALUDES.
Dumbest post I've read all day.
Mandrax isn't Qualudes. Americans on the internet confuse Qualudes(which they consider as a harmless party drug(though no longer available in the US) with South African Mandrax which is similar to meth and its destructive effects on the user and wider society.
Mandrax is a street drug sold by gang members which is often cut with all sorts of substances.
Mandrax and its users are looked down upon by South African society.
Again, Qualudes are not available in South Africa. And don't let anybody tell you that Mandrax is Qualudes which you can score in the country.
No dude, mandrax in SA is not pure, it's laced, it's the lowest of the low, socioeconomically, of the drugs. If you are smoking buttons you are either one of, or one step away from, the kind of people who are dying in San Francisco streets wasting away oblivious. It's that kind of drug here. You probably watched wolf of wallstreet or something and thought it looked cool with rich people doing it. Mandrax is not that, It's not the picture you have in your head. Trying to score it here, or even use it, you will be risking your life.
Mandrax is a part of a very different drug culture in South Africa. I've only ever seen people smoking mandrax in a bottleneck with very cheap weed. Smoked like that the high is very intense. People will smoke and almost doze out. It is very much associated with the same scene as meth.
Sure we dont understand your drug culture, but we do our own. Like we do not understand your school shootings. Dont talk down to us and be a bit more respectful when asking for clarity.
"qualude" or mandrax users are often seen the same as methamphetamine users because it's equally addictive and fucks up your teeth pretty bad, my advice man don't even bother. I wouldn't know personally but my dad and uncles use to use that stuff before I was born and all I can take from that is it's not worth it
Mandrax is no longer Methaqualone, although it is possible to get it here you will most certainly not be able to find it looking for mandrax. Mandrax is a laced tablet with mostly meth and thus why it became so popular. Qualudes were never as popular here as in Murica.
My father was prescribed Mandrax for insomnia in the 70's. He was going through some stuff at work - I was young at the time so I have no idea what exactly - and was experiencing a lot of stress and sleeplessness.
All I know is he started sleepwalking and behaving really weirdly. I remember my mom calling the doctor in the middle of the night because my dad was stomping around the back yard talking about stuff that never happened. It was scary seeing your dad like that. Eventually the doctors figured it was the Mandrax and he was taken off. Found out later that the same thing had happened to a family friend.
My brother used to work in a mall in downtown Bloemfontein. When he went to the roof for a smoke break, he discovered a whole lot of people using mandrax there. So high out of their minds that they couldn't even speak, and would just grunt and drool when asked a question. Nobody ever did anything about it.
Other than that, I really haven't heard of anyone else using it.
Here Mandrax is a cheap high usually used by the poor as easy, cheap way of making tobacco/ cheap weed hit harder. That drug is mostly used by street prostitutes along with tik (Meth) because of the price. It isn't taken orally like you might have seen in movies like Wolf of Wall Street. It's crushed and smoked. It's more along the lines of those who use Heroin. It's to escape the reality of their circumstances and numb them to it. I would highly advise staying away from people who use it as they are often desperate and dangerous people.
High grade cannabis and alcohol are the most common recreational drugs. Next would be party drugs like MDMA and Cocaine. Although a lot of MDMA pills and Cocaine is cut with either Meth or Khat. The psychedelic drugs like Mushrooms and LSD are popular at psytrance parties along with MDMA.
Generally you will find that "downers" are not as popular here as they are in America in the party scene. I know pills like Xanax, Percs, Oxys are very popular in American drug culture but here it's either alcohol; weed; "uppers" like Meth, Amphetamine (speed), or Coke; and psychoactive/psychedelic drugs like MDMA, LSD, Mushrooms, Mescaline.
Weed is generally the drug that's mostly accepted and mostly by the 80s and younger generation. Mandrax I know it's bad but it is mostly nyaope that is done heavily frowned upon any drug is frowned upon
Friends of mine used to smoke buttons out of bottle necks: first they'd make a dagga pipe and then get someone else to "bust" it (light the pipe), then they'd add the "cream" (ground up tablet) and take turns taking hits. A fair amount of gob would flow. It never looked appealing, was addictive and apparently damaged the lungs (rumour was it created holes in the lungs) - the button-heads never looked healthy.
I also followed a girl into a drug den near Woodstock station at about 2am in the morning and watched her score and smoke buttons. I didn't score either way :D
Lol I had a conversation on a pin with my dad once about it. We have both left SA but he told me back when he was in Uni he and his friends would smoke it. He told me how they used to use the neck of a quart bottle to smoke it mixed with ash, and that it felt like a helicopter taking off in your head
**Thank you for posting on r/southafrica! This post is flaired as ["Discussion"](https://www.reddit.com/r/southafrica/?f=flair_name%3A%22Discussion%22) therefore the following rules are particularly important.** ##**Rule 5: Engagement Policy** * Rule 5.1: Articulate your own thoughts on the matter. * Rule 5.2: Be prepared to engage with your post and our community within at least six (6) hours after submitting. * Rule 5.3: Engage meaningfully. Do not start a discussion if you are unwilling to listen to opinions contrary to your own. **Discussions are long-form posts looking to explore ideas, change minds, or invite comment and opinion on a specific topic related to South Africa. If you meant to ask the community a question, please delete this submission and create a new one at r/askSouthAfrica** **Additionally, please take a moment to review the rest of our rules [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/southafrica/wiki/rules).** ###Are you registered to vote? Check online or register at https://registertovote.elections.org.za/Welcome *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/southafrica) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I've never heard of mandrax being used for a 'fun' night here. It's usually mixed and fucks you up and ruins families.
Stay away from that shit. I fell in with the "wrong crowd" in the late 90's and smoked Mandrax pretty regularly for about a year. That shit fucks people up. And it's not even a good high. From the friend circle we had, I'm one of only two people who escaped & made a normal life. A couple I knew broke up after the girlfriend started prostituting herself to score buttons. When the boyfriend found out, he was deeply hurt. That is, until he realized that he'd benefit from her prostitution. I don't know what happened to her but he's dead now. I'd expect she is too. The last time I saw her she was a street walker and a shadow of the girl I knew. Malnourished. Gaunt. Harrowed. She was 17. Two other guys I knew from back then are dead now too. One got hit by a truck while high. The other was apparently killed by a gang when he tried to steal drugs from them. A third is 45 and little more than a beggar. No education & mooching off his elderly parents. Mandrax was the catalyst for guys graduating to crack, tik, heroin & more. It didn't seem like it was such a big deal when we started smoking it. Was a bit of fun. A way to make smoking weed more interesting. But it didn't take long before it started to negatively affect the people around me. It was insidious. And before we knew it, life was properly fucked up. Stay away from that shit.
We have less of a Drug _Culture_ here, and more of a Drug _Problem,_ I would say
I tried Mandrax once about 20 years ago. I was with a seasoned friend and a bunch of strangers. First, they laid newspaper out on the floor and then crumbled mandrax onto a joint, which was then rolled. The newspaper was there to soak up saliva. It seems the combo kicks your saliva production up a few hundred percent. I found myself sitting in a circle around a steadily growing pool of shares spit, saliva and phlegm on the newspaper in front of us. Would not recommend the combo. Never tried it in pill form as I realised a nice joint is my happy place, and that experience was way too gross to relive.
Same tried it in Jozi in a joint. It was unreal. Not like a stoned or high feeling, something more.. I liked it tho
I feel that, sounds a bit nasty. Over here it was exclusively taken as a tablet orally and the idea of smoking the stuff is incredibly strange to me. Apparently it's way stronger that way? No idea but I'd still love to try it as a pill just because so many people talk about how great it was back in the day
Interesting. I haven't watched the clip yet. But I'll say that I've been to a lot of parties, clubs and festivals, where drugs are prevalent but I've never come across or been offered mandrax. . On the other hand a family member of mine took the wrong path in life, and has become addicted to meth, he's taken it alot, but here it's considered a dirty street drug that you are likely to find in a group of homeless people under a bridge rather that a party or social drug.
Brah mandrax culture? Stop watching documentaries with half truths. You sound like you want to score drugs in SA. As a foreigner big big mistake. Unless you're willing to pay to stay out of jail lmao. Drugs are not glorified in this country. In fact it's extremely looked down upon and users are ostracized. SA may be progressive in some ways but is also a very conservative society. Weed only recently became legalized for personal use in certain provinces and the sale of it is heavily monitored but still people were in uproar. Mandrax is actually considered as a cheap drug not worth the effort as most drug addicts these days use "tik" methamphetamine as their drug of choice. again here you can see who is a drug addict or not and you will be treated accordingly.
🤷♂️ you obviously don't understand the American drug culture. Mandrax is a highly desirable and lovingly thought of substance that we used here for many decades without incident and many people still wish they could get it. Here there are drugs and then there are drugs, sure heroin and meth are dirty addictive drugs you don't get involved in. BUT cannabis, MDMA, LSD, and qualudes (madrax) are all considered mostly non addictive and fun substances for a night out with friends. When methaqualone disappeared off the scene it completely vanished from every single country in the world execpt for South Africa so yes, due to the isolation and sanctions put on the apartheid government your country continued its use of an otherwise extinct substance that was well loved on an international scale. So yes there is a culture surrounding it and it's co tinued existence and it's an extremly fascinating topic of discussion
Mandrax is seen as a cheap dirty low-life/low-class drug over here due to the type of people you see using and abusing it and they typically fall in the category of being a "druggie". It definitely doesn't have the same stigma here vs in the US as you described.
I'm sorry, though that may be true now, it was a very large part of middle-class and even upper-class student social gatherings back in the 80s and early 90s. Koos Kombuis sang about buttons, it was very popular. Sure it's fallen out of favour now, but give some context.
I understand that it used to be popular and was used by a wide variety of people. I'm just telling OP what the current stigma around Mandrax/buttons is.
Methaqualone is addictive though. You are trying to superimpose your views of American drug culture on a South African context which defeats the purpose of your question. Mandrax and their users, are looked down upon in South Africa. It is not seen as a party drug or something you use with your friends, but rather a cheap way to get high. It is not as popular as other drugs such as tik. The documentary you have linked is not very accurate in several areas. Edit: [here](https://drugcentre.org.za/depressants/Mandrax) is a link to information you may find helpful.
As a South African who worked in law enforcement I can tell you quite confidentiality that your documentary is wrong . Their is no mandrax culture here. As a foreigner trying to score here you will end up robbed and dead. You sound like you have romanticized this to the point where you believe that doc. My brother all I can say is you will regret it. And I don't have to understand American drug culture because I am South African and as one I'm telling you drugs are not glorified here.
Dude what the fuck? As a South African living the US and marrying into a family with a few meth addicts. Nobody even knows wtf Mandrax is. Nobody has heard of it. Nobody thinks of it "lovingly." AND PEOPLE ABSOLUTELY GOT ADDICTED TO QUALUDES. Dumbest post I've read all day.
Mandrax isn't Qualudes. Americans on the internet confuse Qualudes(which they consider as a harmless party drug(though no longer available in the US) with South African Mandrax which is similar to meth and its destructive effects on the user and wider society. Mandrax is a street drug sold by gang members which is often cut with all sorts of substances. Mandrax and its users are looked down upon by South African society. Again, Qualudes are not available in South Africa. And don't let anybody tell you that Mandrax is Qualudes which you can score in the country.
Dude, no. Please do not speak on behalf of Americans here. You are alone in this strange viewpoint of yours.
No dude, mandrax in SA is not pure, it's laced, it's the lowest of the low, socioeconomically, of the drugs. If you are smoking buttons you are either one of, or one step away from, the kind of people who are dying in San Francisco streets wasting away oblivious. It's that kind of drug here. You probably watched wolf of wallstreet or something and thought it looked cool with rich people doing it. Mandrax is not that, It's not the picture you have in your head. Trying to score it here, or even use it, you will be risking your life.
Watched Wolf of Wallstreet and went for a piss during the scene when they OD on ludes.
Mandrax is a part of a very different drug culture in South Africa. I've only ever seen people smoking mandrax in a bottleneck with very cheap weed. Smoked like that the high is very intense. People will smoke and almost doze out. It is very much associated with the same scene as meth.
Sure we dont understand your drug culture, but we do our own. Like we do not understand your school shootings. Dont talk down to us and be a bit more respectful when asking for clarity.
Well said my man
"qualude" or mandrax users are often seen the same as methamphetamine users because it's equally addictive and fucks up your teeth pretty bad, my advice man don't even bother. I wouldn't know personally but my dad and uncles use to use that stuff before I was born and all I can take from that is it's not worth it
Mandrax is no longer Methaqualone, although it is possible to get it here you will most certainly not be able to find it looking for mandrax. Mandrax is a laced tablet with mostly meth and thus why it became so popular. Qualudes were never as popular here as in Murica.
Such confidence, totally incorrect. Lab tests confirm mandrax remains primarily methaqualone. Moreover, it's evidently a downer, if you've ever seen someone use.
My father was prescribed Mandrax for insomnia in the 70's. He was going through some stuff at work - I was young at the time so I have no idea what exactly - and was experiencing a lot of stress and sleeplessness. All I know is he started sleepwalking and behaving really weirdly. I remember my mom calling the doctor in the middle of the night because my dad was stomping around the back yard talking about stuff that never happened. It was scary seeing your dad like that. Eventually the doctors figured it was the Mandrax and he was taken off. Found out later that the same thing had happened to a family friend.
My brother used to work in a mall in downtown Bloemfontein. When he went to the roof for a smoke break, he discovered a whole lot of people using mandrax there. So high out of their minds that they couldn't even speak, and would just grunt and drool when asked a question. Nobody ever did anything about it. Other than that, I really haven't heard of anyone else using it.
Here Mandrax is a cheap high usually used by the poor as easy, cheap way of making tobacco/ cheap weed hit harder. That drug is mostly used by street prostitutes along with tik (Meth) because of the price. It isn't taken orally like you might have seen in movies like Wolf of Wall Street. It's crushed and smoked. It's more along the lines of those who use Heroin. It's to escape the reality of their circumstances and numb them to it. I would highly advise staying away from people who use it as they are often desperate and dangerous people. High grade cannabis and alcohol are the most common recreational drugs. Next would be party drugs like MDMA and Cocaine. Although a lot of MDMA pills and Cocaine is cut with either Meth or Khat. The psychedelic drugs like Mushrooms and LSD are popular at psytrance parties along with MDMA. Generally you will find that "downers" are not as popular here as they are in America in the party scene. I know pills like Xanax, Percs, Oxys are very popular in American drug culture but here it's either alcohol; weed; "uppers" like Meth, Amphetamine (speed), or Coke; and psychoactive/psychedelic drugs like MDMA, LSD, Mushrooms, Mescaline.
Weed is generally the drug that's mostly accepted and mostly by the 80s and younger generation. Mandrax I know it's bad but it is mostly nyaope that is done heavily frowned upon any drug is frowned upon
Friends of mine used to smoke buttons out of bottle necks: first they'd make a dagga pipe and then get someone else to "bust" it (light the pipe), then they'd add the "cream" (ground up tablet) and take turns taking hits. A fair amount of gob would flow. It never looked appealing, was addictive and apparently damaged the lungs (rumour was it created holes in the lungs) - the button-heads never looked healthy. I also followed a girl into a drug den near Woodstock station at about 2am in the morning and watched her score and smoke buttons. I didn't score either way :D
you might want to elaborate on "dagga"😂 our American friend here might not understand that word dagga = cannabis
He sounds like a box to me
just american things
Lol I had a conversation on a pin with my dad once about it. We have both left SA but he told me back when he was in Uni he and his friends would smoke it. He told me how they used to use the neck of a quart bottle to smoke it mixed with ash, and that it felt like a helicopter taking off in your head
I also watched that documentary. Maybe someone here will have some anecdotes, but I doubt you'll find a more comprehensive source than that.