Meeting of the National Drug Observatories in the Caribbean

DRUG CONSUMPTION SITUATION IN THE

CARIBBEAN

Pernell Clarke

Coordinator of Information and Research for the Caribbean

OID/CICAD

Barbados, June 14 – 16, 2005

Summary

• The Caribbean and Drugs

• Supply Statistics

• Consumption Statistics (School Surveys)

• Emerging Trends

• Discussion

The Caribbean and Drugs

Supply Statistics

• The region continues to be an important trans-shipment area because of geography

• Highest volume: Marijuana

• The supply of cocaine from South American producers is declining

• Designer drugs amphetamines, ecstasy etc are increasingly being trafficked

Supply Statistics• Sources include:

– Police Depts.– Prosecutors– Customs – Coast Guard– National Drug Observatories

• Data may include:– Production of illicit crops (land area under cultivation)– Drug Seizures (quantities in lbs, kgs.)– Seizures of chemical precursors (types and quantities)– Labs Discovered– Persons arrested for drug crimes

The Caribbean – Cannabis Seizures

20,018

52,678

76,48584,224

45,64150,062

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

80,000

90,000

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

The Caribbean – Cocaine Seizures

12,086

5,293

7,240

15,829

8,5079,857

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

18,000

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

The Caribbean – Persons Arrested

19,271

16,361

21,797

18,04919,486

15,504

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Consumption Statistics

• General Population Surveys

• School Surveys

• Treatment Centres

• Emergency Rooms

• Prisoners

• Street Children

• Key Informants

Current world situation

OID-OID-CICAD / OACICAD / OASS

Drug Use Estimates. Last year prevalences,

2001-2003

All drugs Cannabis Ampheta-

minesEcstasy Cocaine Opiates

Millions of persons

185 146.2 29.6 8.3 13.3 15.2

% of population

3.0% 2.3% 0.5% 0.1% 0.2% 0.2%

% of pop.

15-64 yrs. 4.7% 3.7% 0.7% 0.2% 0.3% 0.4%

Source: UNODC 2004 Report

Prevalence - Cigarettes

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Bahamas Barbados St Kitts and

Nevis

St Lucia St Vincent and

the

Grenadines

Suriname Dominica Guyana Grenada Trinidad and

Tobago

Lif etime

Annual

Current

Current Prevalence by Gender - Cigarettes

2.2

5.1

2.7

9.5

5.3

14.6

5.3

1.9

6.3

10.7

2

3.5

1.8

4.8

2.3

5

2.6

1.4

5.3

6.5

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Bahamas Barbados St Kitts and

Nevis

St Lucia St Vincent and

the

Grenadines

Suriname Dominica Guyana Grenada Trinidad and

Tobago

Males

Females

Prevalence - Alcohol

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Bahamas Barbados Dominica Guyana St Kitts and

Nevis

St Lucia St Vincent and

the

Grenadines

Suriname Grenada Trinidad and

Tobago

Lifetime

Annual

Current

Current Prevalence by Gender - Alcohol

24

29.4

35.9

28.6

26

50.8

37.8

29.7

40.2

28.8

19.2

27.1 27.2

14.6

21.1

41.3

23.5

19.3

31.4

23.1

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Bahamas Barbados Dominica Guyana St Kitts and

Nevis

St Lucia St Vincent and

the

Grenadines

Suriname Grenada Trinidad and

Tobago

Males

Females

Prevalence - Marijuana

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Bahamas Barbados Dominica Guyana St Kitts and

Nevis

St Lucia St Vincent and

the

Grenadines

Suriname Grenada Trinidad and

Tobago

Lifetime

Annual

Current

Current Prevalence By Gender - Marijuana

7.3

10.1

5.9

2.8

6

14.2

9.5

2.2

9.5

5.5

1.9

33.3

1.5

3.2

6.3

2.8

0.5

4.7

2.2

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Bahamas Barbados Dominica Guyana St Kitts and

Nevis

St Lucia St Vincent and

the

Grenadines

Suriname Grenada Trinidad and

Tobago

Males

Females

Age of First Use - Cigarettes

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Bahamas Barbados Dominica Guyana St Kitts and

Nevis

St Lucia St Vincent and

the Grenadines

Suriname Trinidad and

Tobago

9 or <

10 or 11

12 or 13

14 or 15

16 or >

Age of First Use - Alcohol

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Bahamas Barbados Dominica Guyana St Kitts and

Nevis

St Lucia St Vincent and

the Grenadines

Suriname Trinidad and

Tobago

9 or <

10 or 11

12 or 13

14 or 15

16 or >

Age of First Use - Marijuana

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Bahamas Barbados Dominica Guyana St Kitts and

Nevis

St Lucia St Vincent and

the Grenadines

Suriname Trinidad and

Tobago

9 or <

10 or 11

12 or 13

14 or 15

16 or >

Perception of Harm From Smoking Cigarettes

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Tobago

Bahamas Barbados Dominica Guyana St Kitts & Nevis St Lucia St Vincent & the

Grenadines

Suriname Trinidad and

Not Harmful

Very Harmful

Don’t Know

Perception of Harm From Frequently Drinking Alcohol

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Tobago

Bahamas Barbados Dominica Guyana St Kitts & Nevis St Lucia St Vincent & the

Grenadines

Suriname Trinidad and

Not Harmful

Very Harmful

Don’t Know

Perception of Harm From Frequently Smoking Marijuana

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Tobago

Bahamas Barbados Dominica Guyana St Kitts & Nevis St Lucia St Vincent & the

Grenadines

Suriname Trinidad and

Not Harmful

Very Harmful

Don’t Know

Perception of Harm From Sometimes Smoking Marijuana

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Tobago

Bahamas Barbados Dominica Guyana St Kitts & Nevis St Lucia St Vincent & the

Grenadines

Suriname Trinidad and

Not Harmful

Very Harmful

Don’t Know

Perception of Harm From Sometimes Taking Cocaine

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Tobago

Bahamas Barbados Dominica Guyana St Kitts & Nevis St Lucia St Vincent & the

Grenadines

Suriname Trinidad and

Not Harmful

Very Harmful

Don’t Know

Other Variables

• Frequency of use• Mode of Use• Demographic • Family background, living conditions,

social status• KAPB• Deviance (besides drug use), school

performance, etc

Trend Data….the next frontier

• Assessing changes in drug use (types of drugs, direction of change, rate of change)

• Assessing the changes in Users (age of first use, frequency of use, reasons for use, characteristics of users)

• Determining risk factors (Are they the same? Are there new ones? Is the order of importance changing?)

• Evaluation (Impact of interventions, treatment, supply reduction etc)*

*Must be carefully done. The use of a control group will usually present a better scientific evaluation, but this is not always feasible.

USA School Survey:USA School Survey:Last year Prevalences of any drug by Last year Prevalences of any drug by

gradegrade

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

'91 '92 '93 '94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 '00 '01 '02 '03

Ra

te (

%)

8o grade 10o grade 12o grade

USA-Chile School Surveys:USA-Chile School Surveys:Last year Prevalences of Last year Prevalences of cannabiscannabis

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

'91 '92 '93 '94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 '00 '01 '02 '03

Rat

e (%

)

USA CHILE

Recap

• Supply: Marijuana, cocaine, designer drugs• Supply statistics are available from many sources.

Need to screen for quality and consistency• Demand: Alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy??• Consumption surveys (secondary schools) need to

be done at least every two years if we are to scientifically identify trends.

The End