by Thea Herbert
Recent data indicates a significant escalation in drug experimentation and consumption among young people according to the National Council on Substance Abuse (NCSA).
“Most notably is that secondary school students now show a marked increase in marijuana use, jumping from about five per cent five years ago to approximately 22 per cent today,” reported research and information officer at the NCSA, Dr Jonathan Yearwood.
He also revealed that over the past eight years, NCSA observed the circulation of new, potent substances, often referred to as “emerging substances”.
These include molly (MDMA), methamphetamines and synthetic cannabinoids like K2 or spice. These synthetic drugs, he said, were often sprayed onto plant material or mixed with tobacco, making their detection and regulation challenging and leading to the possibility of serious health risks.
Yearwood told the Sunday Sun: “These substances are highly addictive and can cause dehydration, irregular heartbeat, nausea, vomiting and even fatal poisoning.”
He said long-term effects were equally concerning, with reports linking methamphetamines to aggressive and violent behaviour, psychosis and physical deterioration.
“Methamphetamine is especially troubling because it often leads to violent and unpredictable behaviour, impacting not just the individual but the wider community,” he added.
Studies indicated that marijuana remained the most accessible drug.
“We have just about two out of ten secondary school students would have said that they would have experimented with marijuana. That is a study that is a little bit dated. It’s 2014, but the primary school study was conducted more recently in 2019 and those between the ages of nine to 11 would have experimented with marijuana. We had just about 1.2 per cent of primary school students, for example, reported using marijuana. This figure rose significantly to 22 per cent among secondary school students.”
The potency of cannabis has increased dramatically, Yearwood said, with THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) levels rising from around three per cent two decades ago to as high as 14 per cent today.
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The National Council on Substance Abuse has observed the circulation of new, potent substances such as molly. (MDMA)
