The proliferation of new drugs on the streets and in the schools of Jamaica has prompted the Government to partner with international stakeholders to conduct a national workshop on early warning systems on drugs.

This is to identify new drugs coming into the country and establish a modern response to the growing issue.

According to a rapid assessment conducted by the National Council on Drug Abuse (NCDA), drugs such as ‘Molly’ in schools have sparked concern. It was also recently reported that more than 50 children from the St Ann’s Bay Primary School were rushed to the St Ann’s Bay Hospital after they were sold ganja-laced sweets by a vendor.

Jeanelle Van Glaanenweygel, resident representative for the Organization of American States (OAS), said that in response to these and other growing issues of drugs affecting member states, it created the ‘Early Warning System Project in Response to Opioids and New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) in Latin America and the Caribbean’.

“A national early warning system on drugs is a critical tool that allows a country to quickly identify, access, and respond to emerging drug threats, from particularly new psychoactive substances, opioids,” Glaanenweygel explained.

She was speaking on the first of a three-day workshop on the warning system held today. The aim is to have the system launched in Jamaica over the next few weeks.

The workshop is organised in partnership with Canada, the NCDA, the OAS, the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission, and other local stakeholders such as the Jamaica Constabulary Force and the Jamaica Customs Agency.

Glaanenweygel added that the system will allow member states to collect and gather scientific information to formulate drug policies, implement tools to support early threat prevention, and facilitate rapid responses

Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton welcomed the system and expressed that the Government’s committed to establishing the system in a timely fashion.

“What I hope for is that an early warning system not just focuses on the evolving new substances that become the novel and therefore generate excitement, but focus on how it is emerging and what is the sort of cohort that is promulgating the emergence of it so it allows us to target the vulnerable and those who perpetrate that kind of abuse,” said Tufton.

Kayla Sewell Mills, chief technical director in the Ministry of Justice representing Minister of Justice Delroy Chuck, also spoke to the importance of restorative programmes when dealing with citizens who suffer from drug abuse.

She noted that in recent times, there have been worrying trends of drug abuse, particularly among youths. Drugs such as ‘Molly’ and ‘Ecstacy’ were identified as having long-term social effects on a person.

“Drug abuse is not just a health issue, but one that affects national productivity, the economy, national security, and we dare say other sectors. It is a national issue,” she said.

The Early Warning System of Americas was established by the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission in 2019, in response to the appearance of opioids, new psychoactive substances (NPS), and other emerging drugs in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The system is operational in Trinidad and Tobago, Brazil and The Bahamas, the United States, Canada, while countries like the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Mexico, and Paraguay are planning to develop it.