Officials meet to discuss prevalence of drug use among persons 12-65

Fri, Jul 21st 2017, 09:51 AM

Minister of Health Dr. Duane Sands said the dissemination meeting for the Bahamas National Drug Assessments presents health and law enforcement officials with an opportunity to learn new knowledge generated by research on alcohol, tobacco, illegal drug use and their related factors, such as perceived risk and drug treatment in The Bahamas.
Officials discussed the results of The Bahamas' National Household Drug Prevalence Survey 2017 during the meeting at the Paul Farquharson Conference Centre, Thursday, July 20.
The primary goal of the survey was to estimate the prevalence of the use of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, cocaine and other drugs among persons 12-65 years in The Bahamas. Perceived drug use, consequences of using drugs and treatment were also incorporated.
Dr. Sands explained why there is a focus on drug use during this time in the government's health agenda, stating that over 30 years ago, two notable Bahamian mental health clinicians, Dr. Nelson Clarke and Dr. Mike Neville, in a scientific paper published in the Bulletin of the Royal College of Psychiatrists chronicled what, at that time, was an unknown drug called 'cocaine' in The Bahamas.
He said that paper outlined that cocaine dependence had increased due to the high amounts that were available at low prices. Around the same period, there was also a simultaneous increase in drug trafficking, not only for transshipment but critically and tragically for local consumption.
"That collision and perfect storm of supply and demand, and the decisions not made, define what has arguably become the single most important influence on the welfare and quality of life of Bahamians ever."
Dr. Sands said by 1984, over 500 new cases of cocaine, including poly drug abuse, were seen at the Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre and the Community Mental Health Clinic (commonly known as Knowles House).
"During that inauspicious era, alcohol and marijuana were also popular drugs of choice. In response to this epidemic, which was actually an unfolding Bahamian disaster, a national household drug survey was conducted in 1991."
He said, "It revealed that alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and cocaine were the most common drugs ever used by those respondents. So not surprisingly, 20 years later, school surveys conducted showed alcohol and marijuana use was present among high school students in grades 8, 10 and 12.
"In this population there were slight increases in lifetime and past-month alcohol use between 2002 and 2011; marijuana use also increased between 2008 and 2011; however, cocaine use was not common."
He said drug abuse and trafficking has permanently scarred both The Bahamas and the United States.
"But our response, however, has not achieved the desired impact in any meaningful way and we must constantly examine our strategies to make sure they accomplish the intended goals, as opposed to simply defining and funding activities, and generating statistics that are costly and potentially ineffective and potentially misdirected."
He said the new knowledge and research presented from the Bahamas National Household Drug Prevalence Survey 2017 will help shape effective and appropriate public policy in the fight against drug abuse, by providing new research and knowledge.
The health minister said, "We must remain focused on the benefits of a reduction in the prevalence of drug abuse, and such a goal, while neither simple nor easy, is indeed achievable. Despite all of the noise in the international and local marketplace, I believe it is worth every effort that we exert to gain improvements."
He added that studies have shown that children and adolescents who refrain from trying drugs are less likely to use them during adulthood. "Therefore, we must find ways to encourage young people to delay their first use."
"It is my hope that our collective vision for a better Bahamas will include having drug-free communities where residents are well-educated on the dangers of drug use, and where our young people will reject the pressure to start engaging in substance use," Dr. Sands said.

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