HUNDREDS CALL FOR HELP WITH GANJA ADDICTION

OF the 890 calls Rise Life Management Services - one the island's
drug treatment facilities - received for help in 2008, the majority
came from people looking to beat their marijuana addiction.

Furthermore, Sonita Abrahams, Rise Life's executive director, said
the percentage of calls for problems associated with marijuana over
the past four years is also on the rise, jumping from 39 per cent in
2005 to 43 per cent in 2008.

"People say marijuana is harmless, but if you talk to any doctor who
works in mental institutions, they will tell you that a large
percentage of the people come in with marijuana induced psychosis,"
Abrahams said.

The calls come in to RISE's 'Telephone Lifeline' which is equipped
with trained counsellors who advise the callers and make the
necessary referrals.

When it comes to the reason the calls have increased, Everton Evlyn,
a lifeline counsellor told the Observer that he has seen an increase
in the number of teenagers who use and misuse marijuana.

"We have noticed a big increase in the number of teenagers using
ganja and it could be from the mental health issues associated with
marijuana misuse [why more teens are calling for help]," he said.

"Ganja is also associated with gangs and we have seen that the
increase [in calls to the life line] in predominantly from high
school students. A big reason is the culture in Jamaica's inner city
communities where ganja is accepted by adults and is seen as an
everyday thing. For them ganja is a wisdom drug that helps them to
be more enlightened. Some of them have low self-esteem and so they
have to do this to be accepted by their peer group."

Information from RISE shows that the short-term effects of marijuana
use include problems with memory and learning, distorted perception,
difficulty in thinking and problem solving, loss of co-ordination,
increased heart rate and anxiety.

And while the 10-19 age group has the third highest number of calls,
RISE's data shows that over the past two years, however, this group
has increased to 26 per cent, just one percentage point behind the
36-50 age group which has the second highest number of calls.
At the top of the list, with the highest number of calls, is the
20-35 age group with percentages ranging from 48 per cent in 2005,
46 per cent in 2006, 40 per cent in 2007 and 44 per cent in 2008.

Turning to male/female ratio, the data showed that 85 per cent of
callers were male, and 15 per cent females.

Meantime, alcohol comes in second on the list of addictions which
persons seek help for, ranging from between 22 and 25 per cent of
the calls over the past four years. Abrahams said the calls have
remained fairly stable over the four-year period. Crack
cocaine, which is also fairly stable, is next on the list
with between 12 and 14 per cent of the calls, followed by gambling,
which ranges from eight to 14 per cent and tobacco slowly trending
down from eight to six per cent over the same period.