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CONTENTS

Previous issue of The Observer News

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO LAUNCHES ITS NATIONAL DRUG OBSERVATORY

by Esther Best, National Drug Council of Trinidad and Tobago

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On Monday June 28^th , 2004, the National Drug Council (NDC) of Trinidad and Tobago, officially launched the National Drug Observatory of Trinidad and Tobago (NDOTT).  

Trinidad and Tobago is the first OAS member state in the English-speaking Caribbean to have a drug observatory with an automated and integrated drug information system that will allow for the collection, analysis and exchange of drug information pertaining to the use, mis-use and abuse of, and trade in illicit drugs. The launch of NDOTT represents a significant achievement, not just for Trinidad and Tobago, but also for the region.

Preparation for the system began when CICAD’s Executive Secretariat extended an offer to Trinidad and Tobago to assist in the development of a National Drug Information System which would facilitate the collection and exchange of drug-related data among governmental agencies, as well as with other drug councils in the hemisphere. 

Subsequently, in February 2002, CICAD hosted a sensitization workshop with local government agencies to increase awareness on the need for collaboration, cooperation, and standardization to facilitate information sharing.  

Read more about Trinidad's experience. 

Watch the speech given by Trinidad and Tobago's Minister of State during the presentation of their National Drug Observatory on June 28, 2004 (Part 1 and Part 2)

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO LAUNCHES ITS NATIONAL DRUG OBSERVATORY (Con't)

....Following is a graph generated from data obtained from Prisons Service which shows incarcerated males and females under the age of 35 for the period of January-May 2004.  It is interesting to note that the majority of females were incarcerated for trafficking whilst the majority of males were incarcerated for possession.  Data like this tells us that more research has to be done on the reasons why this happens, as well as about who should be sent to prison and who should be sent for treatment and rehabilitation.   

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Tel: (242) 356-2274 E-mail:  bashbahamas@hotmail.com

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Since 1991 Bahamas Association for Social Health (BASH) has been managing an adult male residential substance abuse treatment and rehabilitation (T&R) facility in The Bahamas.  BASH continues to monitor drug misuse among clients attending treatment and engages in the development and research of marijuana, alcohol, and cocaine.

In recent years the organization expanded its initiative to include a variety of agricultural and environmental components.  We have learned that connecting people to nature has an amazing feeling of renewal.  BASH provides a therapeutic environment that promotes a cycle of people caring for soil and animals and the soil and animals are nurturing the people back to health. Read more

Barbados’ National Council on Substance Abuse Recognizes International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking www.ncsa.org.bb

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As Barbados prepares to join several countries around the globe in observing International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on 26 June, Barbadians are being told that the gap between resources devoted to demand and supply reduction of drugs has narrowed significantly.

This disclosure has come from the Manager of the National Council on Substance Abuse (NCSA) Tessa Chaderton-Shaw, who admitted that the problem would never be eliminated.

“We are not going to mop up this problem. We are not going to eradicate it. That is a pipe dream. We can control it, we can contain it, we can perhaps reduce it and we can prevent people from ever starting to use alcohol and illegal substance, Chaderton-Shaw told the Barbados Government Information Service.

Should you have any queries regarding this communication kindly contact
Kim Holder at (246) 429-6272 or email kholder@ncsa.org.bb

Calypso Being Used a Drug Education Tool in Barbados 

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The fight against illegal drugs took a musical turn when the Barbados National Council on Substance Abuse (NCSA) donated a prize to the Junior Calypso Monarch Competition for the song that best depicted the ill effects of substance abuse, including alcohol.

This competition is a component of the annual Crop-Over Festival, a major tourist attraction and, unfortunately, the time of year when some people’s values are loosened and alcohol consumption increases. The Junior Calypso Monarch Competition features contestants aged 8 - 18 who perform their Calypso songs as part of the festivities leading up to the grand finale of Kadooment, a carnival-like event.

Should you have any queries regarding this communication kindly contact
Kim Holder at (246) 429-6272 or email kholder@ncsa.org.bb

Franklin Jiménez Rojas, Instituto Sobre Alcoholismo y Farmacodependencia      

Eugenia Mata Chavarría, Instituto Costarricense sobre Drogas     

The full article is available in Spanish only (Word and PDF).  English Translation will soon be available on the OID website 

Summary

The following is a transversal, descriptive and exploratory study on the consumption of Psychoactive Substances (PAS) in the Costa Rican Penitentiary System, carried out through a survey among the prison population, to examine the relationship between consumption and committing crimes resulting in imprisonment.  The study applied a random, multi-tiered and proportional sample, stratified by sex, of the entire sentenced and imprisoned population from The Institutional Attention Centers (CAI) and the Semi-Institutional Attention Centers (CASI) with a 95% confidence interval.  It was determined that in Costa Rica, 33% of crimes committed transgress the Psychotropic Law in some way.  On the other hand, 34.3% of the people interviewed reported that their crimes were committed under the effects of drugs, 22.6% linked them to activities to acquire drugs for their own consumption and 33.8% related them to trafficking.  In this sense, women and men differ significantly in the commission of crimes tied to drug trafficking (60% women versus 24% men).  

Tobacco, marijuana and crack were the principal drugs actively consumed (past month prevalence), reported as much by perception as by direct report.  It was determined that to obtain drugs inside prison centers is an easy to very easy task to achieve (71% of the opinions).  Moreover, it was established that at early ages, substance consumption does not have a strong tie to criminal behavior, but the type of substance is important in the type of crime committed.  It was determined that the more addictive the drug, the more probability there is of associating it with committing a crime under the effects of the drug or to obtain the drug.  According to the analysis areas, the major impacts on both the individual and familial level were on the economy, morale and family.  Finally, in relation to the studied population’s opinion, in terms of principal strategies to approach the problem of consumption and drug trafficking inside prisons, it is understood that actions will be taken to strengthen vigilance, self-help groups and therapy and the effective utilization of free time.

Full article available in Spanish in Word and PDF

Over 5,000 students from different educational institutions in Apopa left their classrooms and marched on the streets to protest against drug use. 

The students marched over 11 kilometers on the Troncal del Norte highway to the España Sports Center  in Soyapango.  The majority of the students were carrying signs protesting drug use.   This event was organized to commemorate June 26, the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking... The National Anti-drug Commission (CNA) organized this event as part of a national plan to decrease drug use, demand and supply of drugs at the national level.  CNA's Executive Director, René Dominguez, stated that he was alarmed because "minors are using drugs and that is dangerous. Close to 219,000 students drink alcohol every 30 days and that is a significant number."  The CNA currently gives talks on the dangers of drug use. However, in order to fight this problem more effectively, the Commission will redesign its strategy and plan of action, which will be implemented within the educational system at the end of 2005.

Other measures to be taken include the regulation of liquor sales to minors through municipal legislation. 

Family also plays an important role, stated the Director of the Anti-drug Commission.  "The head of the family must not send the children to buy liquor at the store because the person selling it does not know where it will end up."  

Full article available in Spanish in Word and PDF

Source: CESAR - Center for Substance Abuse Research, University of Maryland
Tel: (301) 405-9770  Fax: (301) 403-8342 E-mail: CESAR@cesar.umd.edu  URL: www.cesar.umd.edu 

Read full CESAR FAX on PDF

Substance use is relatively prevalent at the beginning of midlife, according to data on substance use among 35-year-olds from the national Monitoring the Future study. Nearly one-third (32%) of 35-year-old men reported heavy drinking in the two weeks prior to the study and approximately one-fourth of men and women reported using cigarettes in the past 30 days (see figure below). Marijuana use in the past 30 days was reported by 13% of the men and 7% of the women. The researchers found that while “…for most people, the foundation for later substance use is set by the time they finish high school” (p.101), substance use at the beginning of midlife was determined not only by previous experience with each substance but also by current demographic and socioeconomic status. Specifically, risk factors related to increased likelihood of substance use included high school use, unemployment, and noncustodial parenthood.  Lower use was associated with being female, a college graduate, a professional, married, or a custodial parent” (p.96).

UNITED NATIONS REPORTS ‘STEADY DECLINE’ OF COCA CULTIVATION IN ANDEAN REGION

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In the five-year period following the 1998 United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Drugs, the total area under coca cultivation in the Andean region – Bolivia, Colombia and Peru – declined by 20 per cent, reaching a 14-year low of 153,800 hectares in 2003.

“The reduction of coca cultivation in Colombia to 86,000 hectares in 2003, a decline of 16 per cent with respect to last year, is the most encouraging result of this year’s United Nations coca surveys in the region. It is the third consecutive annual decrease since 2000, resulting in a total reduction of the area under coca cultivation in Colombia by an impressive 47 per cent,” Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), said at the press conference in Washington, DC, announcing the findings of the 2003 Coca Surveys for Colombia, Bolivia and Peru.

The high level conference held in Washington, DC on June 17, 2004 was hosted by Cesar Gaviria, Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), and David Beall, Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD), with the participation of senior officials from all three countries: Diego Montenegro Ernst, Minister of Agriculture of Bolivia; Luis Alberto Moreno, Ambassador of Colombia to the USA; and Nils Ericsson Correa, Executive Secretary of Peru's National Anti-Drug Commission - DEVIDA. 

The recently released Andean Coca Surveys are based on the interpretation of high-resolution satellite images complemented by extensive ground verification and can be downloaded from the UNODC site:  

Bolivia  -  Colombia  -  Peru 

TheAntiDrug.com was created by the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign to equip parents and other adult caregivers with the tools they need to raise drug-free kids. This campaign was launched in  1998 by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy to educate and empower all youth to reject illegal drugs. The Campaign targets youth ages 9-18—especially the vulnerable middle-school adolescents—their parents, and other adults who influence the choices young people make.

To get the word out across every economic and cultural boundary, the Campaign uses a mix of modern communications techniques—from advertising and public relations to Interactive media—and all possible venues—from television programs to after-school activities. The Campaign also teams up with civic and non-profit organizations, faith-based groups, and private corporations to enlist and engage people in prevention efforts at school, at work, and at play. For additional information on the Campaign, visit http://www.mediacampaign.org