GANJA REMAINS the illegal drug of choice for Jamaicans who believe that it is less likely to wreak havoc on their bodies than the so-called "harder drugs".
A draft drug abuse survey released in May, has found that only 0.5 per cent of Jamaicans use cocaine, "crack" cocaine, ecstasy and heroin. The survey which canvassed 2,380 Jamaicans in the 12 to 55 age range on their use of addictive substances, found also that ganja, alcohol and tobacco were used by 60 per cent.
Alcohol and tobacco have legal status while ganja use carries a criminal penalty.
The study estimates that there were 180,000 ganja users in 2001 compared to 146,000 in another 1994 study - a 23 per cent increase over seven years. Tobacco tops ganja with 187,100 users, but alcohol was by far the most prevalent substance, used by 666,800 persons.
In contrast only 19 per cent of those surveyed reported that they had ever used the harder substances with 12 per cent admitting use in the past year.
Estimates of the number of hard-drug users showed 700 for crack, cocaine 1,600, heroin 1,600 and ecstasy 700.
The National Council on Drug Abuse's (NCDA) "Survey of Drug Abuse in Jamaica 2001" showed that illicit substance use was lowest in the 12 to 17 age group and peaked in the 18 to 24 age group, after which it declined.
"This pattern of drug use is consistent with that observed in other studies in which young people in their late teens and early 20s often experiment with drugs but withdraw from it in later years," it concluded.
The findings the study states, may also be linked to the fact that people in Jamaica are not as convinced that alcohol and ganja are as dangerous as crack and cocaine.
Last year, the NCDA conducted the islandwide survey to generate reliable data on the magnitude of drug use in Jamaica and to guide demand reduction programmes and policies.
The NCDA works with the Ministry of Health and gathers data and monitors all aspects of the substance abuse problem, providing information, encouraging rehabilitation and promoting healthy lifestyle options for Jamaicans. For the survey persons were interviewed about their use of tobacco, alcohol and 11 other cases of drugs and about problems they experienced in relation to substance abuse.
The study showed that the rate of use among males (20.6 per cent) was more than five times the rate for females (3.8 per cent). And although one in 20 students (5 per cent) had at some time experimented with one or more illicit drugs, only one per cent claimed to be current users.
Major sources of drugs identified were drug dealers, friends and at parties. Others got drugs at bars or nightclubs, and a smaller percentage from students at school.
The reports also note a growing popularity among young people in the use of the drug ecstasy, a mind altering drug with hallucinogenic properties. Its use here in Jamaica is said to be concentrated among small group of persons in their late teens or older. The pills come in an assortment of colours and have varying levels of potency. The report estimates that there are 700 ecstasy users on the island.
The report however showed that lifetime and current use of crack and ecstasy was estimated at 0.042 per cent, representing only one case each. Both were young male adults in the eastern region of the island.
Dr. Winston De La Haye of the post-graduate psychiatry programme at the University Hospital of the West Indies: "One cannot overstate the cost of substance abuse to the country as a whole. There is loss in man-hours which leads to non-productivity, as well as theft and deaths," he said after being awarded a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) drug research fellowship three months ago. He said that recovery for substance abusers is difficult as there is no one cure and as a result it is usually a long- standing and challenging journey which includes therapy and attending support groups.
Of note, abuse was viewed by over 80 per cent of the respondents as a serious health problem in Jamaica causing persons to commit crimes and violent acts. Most people (2/3) rejected the notion that it is natural for young people to try drugs once or twice or that a person has a right to use drugs in the privacy of his/her own home without interference from the police. Major suggestions for dealing with the problem were increasing public education programmes especially those aimed at children, harsher penalties for drug users and strengthening the police force to combat the drug trade.
The results estimate that 124,000 Jamaicans have drug-related problems and will require substance abuse intervention or treatment. Doctors view the job of reducing the demand for illegal substances as challenging.
