The Jamaican War Against Drugs!
In our own backyard we have been engaged in our own war to stop the illicit trafficking and drug abuse. Drug production and trafficking in Jamaica are both enabled and accompanied by organized crime, domestic and international gang activity, and endemic corruption in all spheres.
The Jamaican law stipulates that possession or use of cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and ecstasy are illegal and subject to criminal and civil penalties. The illicit possession of precursor chemicals is also prohibited by law, and, under the Precursor Chemicals Act or 2005, violations are punishable by criminal and civil penalties up to $35,000 and or 3 years imprisonment. Jamaica is a signatory to the 1988 United Nations (UN) Drug Convention.
According to the JCF, marijuana is used by somewhere in the region of 9% of the population making it the most abused illicit drugs among Jamaicans, while cocaine abuse has reached a plateau of less than 0.1% of the population. However, there is evidence that new drugs, such as heroin and ecstasy, have entered the Jamaican domestic market in small amounts.
Statistics from the Narcotics Division in Jamaica shows how much of a challenge the country faces daily with illicit drug trade and drug abuse.
- Illegal drug seizures have increased over the past 2 years from a total of 21,963 kg (combined drugs) seized in 2011 to 37,720kg in 2012.
- Cured marijuana accounted for 97% and 99% of all seizures in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Up to April 2013 9,136.96kg of cured marijuana have been seized.
- Cocaine seizures decreased from 552kg in 2011 to 338kg in 2012. Cocaine seizures for 2013 are likely to be significantly more than the previous years as up to April 233kg has already been seized.
There has been an alarming increase in the seizure of ecstasy tablets, from 9 and 6 in 2011 and 2012 respectively to 153 (up to April) 2013.
Efforts to eradicate cannabis is continuing, approximately 15,000kg of cured marijuana were eradicated in 2011 and 2012 while over a million seedlings (units) were eradicated in 2011, 2012 and up to April 2013, respectively.
The table below details the seizures of illicit substances by the Narcotics Division between 2011-2013
|
Activity |
Jan – Apr |
Jan- Dec |
Jan- Dec |
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|
2013 |
2012 |
2011 |
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|
Drug Seized |
|||||
|
Cocaine(kg) |
233.375 |
338.252 |
552.591 |
||
|
Crack(pieces) |
0.645 |
1.372 |
1.35 |
||
|
9,136.96 |
37,329.96 |
21,221.87 |
|||
|
Hash Oil(kg) |
51.756 |
42.223 |
169.591 |
||
|
Hashish(kg) |
1.154 |
2.993 |
8.848 |
||
|
Heroin(kg) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
||
|
Ecstacy (tablets) |
153 |
6 |
9 |
||
|
Total Drug Seized |
9576.894 |
37720.795 |
21963.251 |
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|
|
|||||
|
Cannabis Eradication |
|||||
|
Seeds(kg) |
179.162 |
302.219 |
130.492 |
||
|
Seedlings(units) |
1,297,400 |
1,570,600.00 |
1 ,053,000 |
||
|
Grown Plants ( Ha) |
104.710 |
455.506 |
372.69 |
||
|
3,743.73 |
14,852.05 |
15,510.058 |
|||
|
Nurseries(units) |
53 |
69.0 |
4 |
||
|
Clandestine Labs(units) |
0 |
1 |
0 |
||
|
Total Cannabis Eradication |
1301480.599 |
1586279.77 |
16017.24 |
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|
Data Source: |
JCF, Transnational Crime & Narcotics Division Statistics |
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The NCDA remains committed to supporting all efforts of supply reduction to deal with these aspects of the drug problems that we face.