Household Drug Survey reveals… Guyanese believe drug use has increased
Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan
Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan

A 2016 Household Drug Survey in Guyana has revealed that 66.5 per cent of the respondents believe that drug use has increased in Guyana over the past few years, while 40.9 per cent believe that it is easy to access marijuana.These findings were published in the survey which was sponsored by the Organisation of American States (OAS) and the Inter American Drug Abuse Commission. The report was officially launched on Thursday morning at a ceremony held at Cara Lodge.

The study objectives included; to determine the prevalence of psychoactive substance use; detect patterns of use of the various substances; and to describe aspects related to the use of substances.
According to the survey, 40.9 percent of the respondents believe that it is easy to access marijuana in Guyana although the substance is still an illegal one; 66.5 percent of respondents said they believe that drug use in Guyana has increased over the last few years, while 46.7 per cent opined that drug use will get worse in the coming years.

In terms of alcohol, a licit substance, it was revealed that Binge Drinking among current users is as high as 64.2 per cent in males and 46.3 per cent in females.

21.5 per cent of the respondents from Region Three and 24.5 per cent from Region Seven said that there is a great deal of drug dealing in their neighborhoods.

However, 56.4 per cent expressed the view that the drug issue in Guyana is among the core concern of the Government.

A section of the gathering at the launch of the 2016 Household Drug Survey at Cara Lodge on Thursday

And according to Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan, this is indeed the case.

He said that these statistics paint a picture which “shames us all,” and something must be done about it.
The Minister stated that these troubling statistics are corroborated by what he was recently informed by the Traffic Chief. He said that he was made aware that already from 1st to 15th January 2017, as compared to 1st to 15th January 2016, the cases made out of driving under the influence of alcohol tripled. There were 89 in early 2016 and that figure has now jumped to 228 as of early 2017.

Speaking to the links between drugs and violence, Minister Ramjattan explained that drugs misuse and violence both act as a catalyst for each other. He said that study shows that drug consumption is linked to drug abuse, delinquency, and anti-social behaviour in adulthood, as well as educational failure.

“Not only does drug use affect physical and cognitive functions, but it also contributes to reduced physical control and the ability to recognise warning signs in potentially dangerous situations, which can make some drinkers easy targets for perpetrators of criminal acts” he said.

Additionally, he noted that victims and children who experience and are subjected to drug related violence, strongly develop emotional and behavioural problems and are often known to seek the use of drugs as a coping mechanism.
As such, he said the domino effect of drug abuse now becomes an economic burden to the State, since both the health and criminal justice sectors are directly affected.

To curb illicit drug use, the Minister pointed to several recommendations made in the survey, including the need for regular sensitization on the harmful effects of licit and illicit drug use.

He said that the materials developed should cover both the desired effects and the serious consequences associated with drug use, while prevention messages should be appropriate for different age ranges and the needs of individual drug users and should provide alternatives to drug use.

Another recommendation was that drug addiction should be given greater priority in health promotion and disease prevention programmes, such as what is currently being given to diseases such as HIV/AIDS.
The need for continued training of persons who have shown an interest in the field of treatment and prevention and the establishment of more treatment and rehab centres across the country, was another recommendation made.

Speaking at the launch too, was OAS representative, Jean Ricot Dormeus, who pointed out that unity is key in winning the fight against illicit drug use.

“With unity, no solution can be out of reach” he said, adding that the results of the survey will better equip officials to better understand drug prevalence in Guyana.

Dormeus explained too that to adequately address the issue of drug prevalence, there is need for a holistic approach, since it affects every segment of society.

He also lauded the fact that Guyana is one of the few Caribbean countries that has produced an annual report on drug supply and demand.

United States (US) Ambassador to Guyana, Perry Holloway, speaking on behalf of his country’s government, which provided funding for the report, agreed that the study provides a baseline of information where the progress made can be measured.

He said that drug use and trafficking has multiple negative impacts and what this study does is that it gives hard data to stakeholders, who must now decide what to do with that data.

 

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