JAMAICA on Friday became the fourth Caribbean country to establish an early warning system (EWS) on drugs, joining Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago.

The EWS will function as an institutional network of key stakeholders tasked with issuing alerts about new psychotropic substances, developing rapid and effective responses, and maintaining a surveillance system using information from multiple sources, including epidemiologists.

National Council on Drug Abuse (NCDA) will collaborate with 15 organisations, chiefly across public health and national security, to curtail drug abuse and illicit trafficking in Jamaica.

Addressing Friday’s launch at Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston, minister of state in the Ministry of National Security Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn said the rise in new psychotropic substances poses a significant threat to Jamaica, primarily because of the country’s geographic location.

“The country is very vulnerable to drug trafficking and trans-shipment syndicates. The introduction of new drugs is very unpredictable, is poorly understood, and presents distinctive requirements, not only for drug treatment and public health but also for law enforcement,” she explained.

Cuthbert-Flynn said that in 2022 the Government was alerted to a growing trend in the use of Molly among youth, and in October 2023 approximately 60 students of Ocho Rios Primary School in St Ann had to receive medical attention after they became ill following the consumption of cannabis-infused sweets bought from a vendor in the institution’s environs.

“Jamaica is very mindful that these new substances are already in our region, and we must be alert, we must be ready to tackle this problem head-on with proactive approaches,” she said.

Cuthbert-Flynn pointed out that the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s (UNODC) early warning advisory reported more than 1,124 psychotropic substances up to December 2023.

“This early warning system is another important measure in Jamaica’s counter-drug efforts. I believe that Jamaica and the region will definitely reap the benefits of this system as a pre-emptive strike against the ills that traditional drugs, new psychotropic substances, and drug trafficking wreaks on the social, economic and political fabric of any country,” she stated.

Cuthbert-Flynn expressed gratitude to the international partners who were instrumental in establishing the EWS on drugs, namely the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction; Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission of the Organisation of American States; and Cooperation Programme between Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union on Drug Policies.

Meanwhile, executive secretary of Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission of the Organisation of American States, Ambassador Adam Namm said Jamaica’s launch of the EWS on drugs speaks to the Government’s commitment to combating the grave and growing risk of illegal synthetic drugs to the health and safety of Jamaicans.

“I know that you will reap benefits in terms of timely response to drug threats and, more importantly, the improved health and safety of your citizenry. We are committed to supporting Jamaica in addressing the drug problem, and I look forward to Jamaica’s early warning system developing into a model for other countries to follow,” Ambassador Namm said.

— JIS