Report of the drug Situation in Haiti 2012

Participants at the SHID-MEM June Meeting

 

Since after the meeting held in June for the MEM (of Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism) and SHID (Haitian System Inforamtion on Drugs), The CONALD through the OHD (Haitian Drug Observatory) has published the latest report on drugs in the country. Here it reports the executive summary of the report:

Under the initiative of the Haitian Observatory on Drugs (OHD) of the National Commission for the Fight against Drugs (CONALD), a second workshop of  the SHID (Haitian Information System on Drugs) was held on January 19 and 20, 2012. This meeting was held in order to allow the various stakeholders in the fight against drugs, both on the supply reduction and also on the demand reduction, to participate in the sharing of experiences and to define together new frontiers of reflection  on the issue of drugs in the country. The SHID is a network bringing together all the stakeholders involved in the fight against drugs both on the supply reduction (drug trafficking, money laundering, etc.) also on of the demand reduction (awareness, rehabilitation, treatment, etc.).

Speak and act against the scourge of drugs, is to know the situation in terms measure, trend and magnitude. Is Haiti a country presenting a high consumption of marijuana? Drugs, including alcohol, cocaine or yet the cannabis are they perceived as a danger within the population?

The results of the school survey of 2009 have allowed to bring elements of information and  confirm the phenomenon of induced consumption. The main results found are the following:

• The illicit drugs most consumed in Haiti are marijuana and cocaine. Indeed, it is attested that cocaine and marijuana reach respective percentages of 2.04 and 2.01.

• 28.9% of students have taken tranquilizers without medical prescription during their life; 15% took during the twelve (12) past months and 11.5% during the last 30 days. The trend of consumption of these substances remains more or less stable compared to the year 2005 where the prevalence of life was 29.79%. This High prevalence is also seen in the abuse of stimulants (22.58%).

• Certain lawful drugs are rising compared to 2005. This is the case for alcohol and cigarette which in 2009 had a respective prevalence of 15% and 59.55% while in 2005 they did reached only 11.12 and 53.64%.

• With regard to the frequency of alcohol consumption, it should be noted that 16.8% of students drank at most one (1) glass of alcoholic beverages per day during the last thirty (30) days, 5.8% had reported consuming between two (2) to three (3) glasses of alcohol per day. So this is a situation that needs to be controlled because students may be victims of the so-called "binge drinking."

• In terms of illicit drugs, a lifetime prevalence of 15.3% among boys is observed, more than three (3) boys of twenty (20) have already taken an illicit drug in their lifetime (see Table 2). For girls, this indicator reached 16.7%.The age of initiation for some drugs like marijuana is determined to 13 years, reflecting an early use among young people.

The survey "among youth and adults in the town of Jacmel on their perceptions of drugs and problems associated with their use" performed by APAAC, provided relevant results on the state of knowledge on drugs.

• Almost all of the respondents think that it is dangerous to abuse cocaine and crack (99.8%), marijuana (98.4%), solvents (98.2%) and cigarettes (96.3 %). However, it is important to note the significant number of individuals who do not consider the abuse of sedatives as a threat, or 30.3%.

• (154) people or 25.8% believe that drug abuse is related to the result of the weakness of family structures.

• (205) respondents or 34.3% agree that it is a consequence of poverty;

• (238) respondents, or 39.8%, believe the problem is due to the influence of foreign countries.
On the side of the supply reduction of drugs, that is to say, everything that relates to the fight against illicit trafficking, money laundering and other related crimes, many operations were made by the concerned institutions. These operations resulted in the seizure of narcotics, the arrest of suspected traffickers; goods (money, houses, vehicles, etc.) and other equipment (guns, boats, etc.).

• In 2012 there was a seizure of 130,000 grams of marijuana and 300,000 grams of cocaine

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• In 2011, the convicted of drug trafficking are among 31 in total, including 29 males and 2 females and the other detainees are among 110 including 84 men and 26 women. Another important indicator is the people deported to Haiti, especially because of drug trafficking. The number of deportees has more than doubled in 2011 compared to 2009, a total of 391 against 149 in 2009.

Regarding the reduction of demand for drugs, the total number of patients admitted to the Mars and Kline Psychiatric Center, the hospital Beudet and APAAC for the Year 2011 is 75 people.

The main substances used by patients are marijuana, alcohol, cocaine and crack. Addicts use other substances as "jucy lucy" (mixture of Cannabis and crack), lorazepam, etc. The average age of first marijuana use is 17 years old that of alcohol is 16 years.

 Main qualitative information collected:

• Datura commonly called "feuille cloche" and called rape drug ecstasy are popular in recreational scene in Haiti.

• Homeless children mainly use solvents, marijuana, crack and cocaine.

• Girls getting used increasingly with alcohol. There is a strong increase in alcohol consumption after the earthquake.

• Consumption sometimes of the substance called the "jucy lucy" (joint of crack / cocaine / marijuana).

• Presence in the territory, significant amphetamine consumption.

• Illicit marijuana cultivation is practiced on small scale in some places withdrawn from the country.

In relation to this information, Haiti is not recognized as a country producer of drugs but as a territory coveted by drug traffickers because of its structural weaknesses and its geographical position. The drug problem is very real in the area. This growing threat of drug problem worldwide, particularly in the Caribbean region, causes the government to be very alert to new trends in the area in order to adopt ingenious measures to block the road to criminal organizations. Thus, in accordance with the objectives set out in the national strategy against drugs, several actions will be taken to fight against this scourge of drug .In result of that,, CONALD planned the implementation of the following priority actions:

• The implementation of a third school survey

• Updating the Web Site CONALD

• Seminar on awareness, information and training for police and judicial personnel

• Extension of CONALD and the repressive institutions in other regions of the country

• Construction of a detoxification center in Tabarre

• Project of the implementation of coalitions in partnership with CADCA (Community Anti Drug Coalition of America)

Soon the Drug report 2013 of Haiti: