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Reported are the results of a survey to assess the prevalence of illicit drug use among high-school students in Jamaica. A total of 2417 high-school students in 26 schools were covered: 1063 boys and 1354 girls of whom 1317 were grade-10 students (mean age 15.7 years) and 1100 were grade-11 students (mean age 16.8 years). Of the students, 1072 and 1345 were from rural and urban schools, respectively, while 1126 and 1291 were children of parents who were professionals and nonprofessionals, respectively. The following drugs were used by the students: marijuana (10.2%), cocaine (2.2%), heroin (1.5%) and opium (1.2%). Illicit drug use among males, urban students and children of professionals was higher than that among females, rural students and children of nonprofessionals, respectively.
Introduction
Drug use and abuse remain critical problems in most countries and are associated with several social and economic consequences (1). The use of illicit drugs frequently starts among schoolchildren during adolescence. Surveys in the United Kingdom indicate that 5-20% of schoolchildren use drugs, with 2-5% using them weekly and with a peak prevalence at 14-16 years of age (). In Trinidad and Tobago, the lifetime prevalence has been found to be 8% for marijuana use and 2% for cocaine use among secondary schoolchildren (). In Barbados, 31% of admissions to the psychiatric hospital were linked to drug abuse, which was the second most common diagnosis; cocaine and marijuana were the most commonly abused illicit drugs (4).
The misuse and abuse of drugs by adolescent schoolchildren are global problems, and Jamaica is no exception. A survey of four high-schools in Jamaica found that 60% of children had tried one or more drugs, including marijuana, and 1.3% had used cocaine (5). Another study of households in western Jamaica revealed that 9.4% used cocaine, with 6.2% in the age group 15-24 years. Miost users start while in school (6). A national survey of the use of drugs in Jamaica in 1989 reported that 78% of males and 40% of females used at least one of four drugs (alcohol, cocaine, marijuana and tobacco) (7). In 1991 it was found that 14% of teenage males and 1 % of females were current users of marijuana. In addition, 4.8% of teenage children in urban areas used...