[7] The drug is usually inhaled after being warmed in a glass pipe but can be also smoked with cannabis in the form of a joint,[8] and also may be injected intravenously although this is rare.
Sensationalist media reports have often claimed that ‘whoonga’ or ‘nyaope’ is a uniquely South African drug containing ingredients such as rat poison, anti-retroviral medication, and materials gleaned from the cathode tubes in stolen flat screen televisions.
[14][15][16][17][18] However scientific laboratory studies have shown these claims to be urban legends, and that 'whoonga' and 'nyapoe' are in fact simply heroin and do not contain ARV medication, rat poison, or chemicals from flat screen televisions.
[19][20] [21][2] According to researcher Jesse Copelyn it "has been shown "that media accounts that frame nyaope as a new and exotic drug are misleading" and "have obscured the fact that South Africa simply has a major heroin crisis".
[2][5] Systemic Criminality It is often said that all or most users sustain their addiction via crime, however academic Mark Hunter shows that the majority work for extremely low pay, often for other poor people.