The Drug Control Secretariat has commenced the process to harmonise its 14 indicators on drugs, with the 18 categories of indicators developed by the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) and Caribbean countries in 2017.
The indicators are used to compile statistical data on drugs, in areas such as arrests, drug seizures and number of admissions to treatment centres.
A series of meetings between the Drug Control Secretariat and its focal points in various Ministries are in progress, to examine both sets of indicators and to develop a methodology to harmonise them. The Drug Control Secretariat currently utilises 14 categories of indicators, while the CICAD model consists of 18 categories. The Drug Control Secretariat and its focal points would work toward the establishment of 16 harmonised categories of indicators.
The proposed categories are:
- Seizures, Arrests, Court Cases, Origin, Destination, Other Seizures
- Treatment Utilisation
- Drug-Related Morbidity
- Drug-Related Mortality
- Scope of Mechanisms for the Control of the Diversion of Pharmaceutical Products and Controlled Chemical Substances
- Criminal Deportees
- Financial Crimes
- Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, Other Related Materials
- Incarceration
- Court Referrals
- Tests for Presence of Controlled Drugs
- Aliens Sent from Grenada for Drug-Related Offences
- Domestic Violence and Homicides
- Prevalence, Incidence of Drug Use in the General Population
- Economic Cost of Drugs
- Drug Use among Young People, Risk Factors, Anti-Social Behaviour
The harmonisation of the indicators is expected to be completed in June 2018. Thereafter, they will be pretested and amended, based on the results of the pretests. These proposed categories of indicators will be presented at the 14th annual meeting of GRENDEN, in January 2019, for approval.
Since 2002, the Drug Control Secretariat and the Grenada Drug Epidemiology Network (GRENDEN), have developed and utilised several indicators to compile its drug statistics.
Drug Control Secretariat, Ministry of Education
