A Ministry of Heath snapshot study of the current landscape of drug use among Jamaicans has revealed “clear indications of increases in substance use over the past seven years”, with alcohol prevalence rates for the individual parishes of Trelawny, St Ann and Kingston outstripping the national prevalence rate which now stands at 46.2 per cent.
According to the data, which is contained in the 2023 Jamaica Drug Prevalence Statistics released by the Ministry of Health on Monday, “alcohol prevalence is significantly higher” in Trelawny (57.5 per cent), St Ann (54.3 per cent) and Kingston (52.2 per cent).
Other parishes with high alcohol usage are Hanover (46.8 per cent), St Elizabeth (41.5 per cent), Clarendon (48.1 per cent), St Catherine (50.4 per cent), St Mary (43 per cent), and St Thomas (44.5 per cent).
Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton, in unveiling the findings during a press briefing in the Corporate Area, said the surge was “most notable” in the four per cent increase last year in alcohol use (56 per cent to 60 per cent) as well as in the current year (42 per cent to 46 per cent) and the same level of increase last year in the use of cigarettes (12.7 per cent to 16.8 per cent).
According to the health minister, harmful use of alcohol is most evident among the 25-35 age group while current ganja use is most prevalent among the 18-25 age group. Tufton said among those who smoke cigarettes, daily use increased from seven per cent in 2016 to 11.6 per cent at present.
The health minister, in the meantime, said another concerning finding was the fact that among people who smoked ganja in the past year, approximately 66 per cent were deemed as high risk for dependence representing a 15 per cent increase from the 50 per cent seven years ago.
“This is significant and we need to pay keen attention as it reflects what studies are showing in other countries that have changed their cannabis regulatory framework [legalisation/decriminalisation],” Tufton told the briefing.
“What we are seeing is that the overall prevalence has not increased significantly, but the intensity of use among those who already use has increased. This is what other countries have also found,” he said further.
Health officials have also found that the number of people driving under the influence of alcohol has increased since 2016, from 14.4 per cent to 17.5 per cent.
“Approximately 18 per cent of drivers have driven on our roads under the influence of alcohol in the past year with significantly more males (23.9 per cent) than females (5.2 per cent) reporting this. This practice is the highest reported among the 25-34 age group — approximately one in three persons in this age group,” Tufton revealed.
Conversely, he said, 10 per cent of drivers reported driving under the influence of other drugs (to include cannabis and other illegal drugs), down from 14 per cent in 2016.
In the meantime, Tufton said the data revealed that the use of edibles (cannabis-infused food) has increased by seven per cent (from 6.6 per cent in 2016 to 13.3 per cent in 2023).
According to the minister, health officials are “not surprised by this finding as the popularity of edibles is evident among youth and young adults, popular in parties and stage shows and easily accessible in a variety of places island wide”.
Based on the data, 10 per cent of adolescents 15-17 years reported use of edibles. It said the highest level of use was reported among males in the 35-44 age group (which translates to 28 per cent, or almost three in 10) and females in the 25-34 age group (13 per cent).
On Monday, Tufton said the audit tool used in the study, which determined the type of intervention needed depending on the alcohol use pattern, showed that “the majority of our population need education about alcohol (75.7 per cent) and approximately 20 per cent need simple advice”.
“When broken down by parish, specialized treatment services are most needed in Clarendon, St James and KSA, while brief interventions are most needed in Trelawny, Westmoreland, Manchester, Clarendon and KSA. There is more to drill down with the data to tailor interventions according to the landscape of needs,” Tufton told the briefing.
A National Drug Research Network, said the minister, is to be established. It will comprise academics and technical experts who will draft an agenda for drug research that goes beyond prevalence studies for a deeper dive into the issues. He said initiatives geared toward the high-risk areas and groups will also be informed by these findings.
The data in the study were drawn from some 4,991 respondents island wide.
