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…as findings of school drug survey are revealedBy Desilon Daniels(left to right) US Embassy Charge D’Affaires Bryan Hunt, Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana Pierre Giroux, OAS Representative Jean Dormeus, and Coordinator Task Force on Narcotic Drugs and Illicit Weapons representative Michael Atherley listen carefully to Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan’s remarks (at podium)A survey taking a look into drug use in secondary schools in Guyana was launched yesterday. In light of its findings the need to craft national policies to curb drug use in teenagers was identified as a key approach.The Guyana Secondary School Drug Prevalence Survey Project was conducted by the Ministry of Public Security (formerly the Ministry of Home Affairs) with sponsorship from the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission.Technical support was provided by the Inter American Drug Abuse Control Commission. This project, which takes a look into the prevalence of licit and illicit drugs in secondary schools in Guyana, was officially launched yesterday, more than two years after nationwide evaluation.The latest evaluation of secondary school students in Guyana was conducted in May and June 2013.During the launching ceremony at the Cara Lodge Hotel, emphasis was on the importance of using the survey’s findings to jumpstart strategies.OAS Representative Jean Ricot Dormeus said, “I wish I could report that substance abuse is not an issue in Guyana but that is only a wish.”Dormeus emphasised that this survey highlighted the issues facing Guyana in relation to drug use and should therefore be used to craft the right policies and strategies. He said these will go a long way in tackling the issue.United States Charge d’Affaires, Bryan Hunt, said that the survey should be used to identify the root causes of drug use in teenagers, whether it is depression, family problems, or peer pressure.He said, too, that more must be done to shift the phenomenon and urged stakeholders to use the survey to develop newer approaches to reduce drug use.The US contributed funding towards the project and Hunt outlined steps by the US Government to stem the flow of drugs in Guyana. These steps include support to enforcement agencies such as the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) and the Guyana Police Force (GPF) in an effort to tighten up their security and monitoring capabilities.While others spoke on the need to implement strategies to tackle the findings of the survey, Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, outlined several proposals to do so.According to Ramjattan, the survey tells a “worrying story” but it is a story that nonetheless needs to be told. He admitted that he felt disheartened by the findings. “We need to do more,” he stressed.He further said that while a final strategy was yet to be worked out, a general approach is understood. He shared that the ultimate aim will be to reduce drug use in communities.He added shared that the approach will be “multi-pronged”. It will include a number of ministries and agencies that will focus on all levels of drug use– the demand, supply, treatment, and development of skilled workforce to deal with the issue.He further said that the approach will focus on reducing the demand for drugs by creating alternative opportunities. Particularly in terms of youth, he said that activities such as sports and music must be looked at to allow young people to meaningfully occupy their time. He added that community support and positive parenting will be necessities going forward.Ramjattan expressed hope that there will be regional and international help to deal with the issue. Locally, he said, the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Public Health will look towards improving their capacities to deal with drug use in young persons.In 2006, the Guyana Drug Information Network (GUYANADIN), which the project falls under, was established within the Ministry of Home Affairs.Findings2013 was not the first time the survey would have been conducted; it was conducted two other times before in 2002 and 2007.The latest report is based on 28 schools in all of the administrative regions except Regions Seven and Eight. A total of 1890 questionnaires were administered resulting in 1,Alexis Sanchez Jersey,712 valid questionnaires. Of the valid questionnaires, 1,266 were from public schools and 446 were from private schools.The report, an 86-page document, focuses on licit drugs such as alcohol and tobacco as well as illicit drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, inhalants, and ecstasy.Among the key findings was the fact that private school students used drugs such as tobacco, marijuana and alcohol more often than public school students. The findings showed that alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana remain the most commonly used drugs among the student population.Further, marijuana remains the most accessible illegal drug and cocaine the least accessible. The findings also showed that the first drug of choice for most students appears to be inhalants with an average age of first use of 10.8 years old. This is compared to alcohol’s first age of use which is 12 years old.Overall, students are aware of the dangers of drug use as more than 50 percent of them said that using any type of drug was detrimental to their health. Additionally, the survey indicated that students are not generally curious to try a drug even if given the opportunity to do so. More than 80 percent responded in the negative in this area.The survey further showed links between drug use and absenteeism, poor academic performance, confrontations at school, difficulties at home, and thoughts of suicide. There was also a link between drug use and sexual abuse.TrendsThere are increases in the average age of first time use for tobacco, alcohol, crack and ecstasy when compared to the results of the previous survey done in 2007. However, first time use for many drugs are being witnessed in preteens.Data shown indicated that the average age of first time use of alcohol now stands at 12.5 years from 12.2 years. The average age of first time use of tobacco moved up from 11.5 years to 11.7 years. Further, the average age of first time use for crack improved from 13.2 years to 14.5 years, and average age of first time use for ecstasy improved from13.5 years and 14.7 years.However, the average age of first time use of marijuana declined from 13.3 years to 12.8 years, for cocaine from 13.0 years to 12.1 and for stimulants from 12.0 years to 11.7 years. These figures indicate that students are using these drugs at a younger age.In terms of prevalence of drug use, it was shown that alcohol was the mostly widely use drug, with 52.2 percent of the students reporting that they had consumed alcohol at least once in their lifetime. 31.2 percent stated that they had consumed alcoholic drinks in the last 12 months while 16.0 percent said they had consumed alcoholic drinks in the last 30 days.Students from private schools showed a significantly higher lifetime prevalence rate for alcohol use than those from public schools. The lifetime prevalence rate for alcohol use by students from private schools was 61.8 percent while the lifetime prevalence rate for public schools was 51.4 percent.The data further indicated that 33.3 percent of the students who reported drinking alcohol stated that they drank alcohol at a sporting event, 22.9 percent drank at other social events, 18.1 percent drank at home, 8.2 percent at school, 4.4 percent at a friend’s home and 2.3 percent on the block. With regard to where the students got alcohol from, local shops was the most popular choice.Twenty-nine percent said they got alcohol from a shop while 26.7 percent said they got it from friends, and 10.8 percent said they got it from other relatives.The other licit drug, tobacco, was much less popular amongst Guyanese students; overall, 16.8 percent of the students reported that they had smoked cigarette at least once in their lifetime; 4.6 percent reported that they had smoked cigarette in the last 12 months; and 2.2 percent reported smoking cigarette in the last 30 days.Private schools once again showed a significantly higher lifetime prevalence rates than public schools in regard to tobacco use; 23.0 percent in private schools compared to 16.3 percent in public ones.Private schools also showed a significantly higher lifetime prevalence rate for marijuana use than public schools. The lifetime prevalence rate for private schools was 16.4 percent, while the lifetime prevalence rate for public schools was 5.8 percent.For marijuana use, there were overall improvements in all the prevalence indicators when 2013 results were compared with 2007 results.The data indicate that lifetime prevalence for marijuana was 6.6 percent in 2013 compared to 11.2 percent in the 2007 survey while the one year prevalence rate for marijuana was 3.8 percent and the one month prevalence rate was 2.2 percent.In 2007, the one-year prevalence rate for marijuana use was 6.5 percent and the one month prevalence rate was 3.8 percent.Meanwhile, perceptions on the level of access students have to illicit drugs appeared low. Marijuana appeared to be the most accessible illicit drug for secondary school students with 16.3 percent of them indicating that it would be easy to access.According to officials, the full report will be made available through the Ministry of Public Security website.
