In 1994 South Africa entered into a new political dispensation that gave the country greater access to the international community. The first democratically elected president of this dispensation, Mr. Nelson Mandela, singled out alcohol and other drug abuse among the social pathologies that needed to be combated as part of the social reconstruction of South Africa.

The re-entry of South Africa into the international arena brought with it prosperity and commitment on the one hand and a range of new problems and challenges on the other hand. The rapid expansion of international air links, combined with our geographic position on major traffic routes between East Asia and the Middle East, America and Europe, a well-developed transportation infrastructure, modern international telecommunications and banking systems, long porous borders and weak border control, made South Africa a natural target for drug traffickers.