ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COUNCIL
The National Council on Drug Abuse was established in October 1983, by the then Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon Edward Seaga, and assigned it the portfolio of the then Ministry of Science, Technology and Energy with Dr Ronald Irvine as Chairman of the Council In 1984, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Energy was disbanded, and the responsibility for the National Council on Drug Abuse was transferred to the Office of the Prime Minister.

In 1989, the Hon. Michael Manley, Prime Minister, appointed Dr Winston Davidson as Chairman to succeed Dr. Irvine In 1994, Dr Charles Thesiger succeeded Dr Davidson as Chairman of the NCDA.

AIMS

The Council’s broad aims are to educate the general public about the dangers of drug abuse and to prevent the indiscriminate use of drugs.

THE DRUG ABUSE SECRETARIAT

In September 1984, the Drug Abuse Secretariat was established to assist the Council in carrying out the administrative tasks necessary to fulfill its objectives. The Secretariat is funded by the government of Jamaica, through the Office of the Prime Minister.

The National Council on Drug Abuse was transferred from the Office of the Prime Minister to the Ministry of Health in 1994 and operates on a basis consistent with the Civil Service system. It is headed by an Executive Director, who has responsibility for the overall co-ordination and monitoring of all the programmes and projects falling within the jurisdiction of the NCDA The Secretariat maintains the linkage between the public and the Council and is also expected to co-ordinate the activities for various projects.

ROLE OF THE NCDA

When the NCDA was established in 1983 it was charged with the responsibility of educating the general public about the dangers of drug use and of preventing the indiscriminate use of drugs. Since then however, the Council has had to review it role, and this has led to an expansion of its terms of reference to include an examination of the legal, medical and security issues surrounding drug abuse, as well as research

 This has embraced the formulation of projects that have attempted to address all the various key elements and to establish a comprehensive national policy on drug abuse prevention and demand and supply reduction.