DRUG PREVENTION SURVEY AIMS TO CURB DRUG ABUSE

PHILIPSBURG--The Executive Council has approved a project to develop
target groups for specific intervention programmes aimed at drug
prevention, Commissioner of Health Maria
Buncamper-Molanus announced Wednesday.

Buncamper-Molanus told Wednesday's Executive Council press briefing
the project entails gathering baseline information on the local drug
situation. The information gathered will include the causes,
consequences and characteristics of persons involved with drugs, and
their social networks.

She explained that due to the magnitude of the project, activities
had been subdivided into various phases. In the first phase, a
survey will be conducted amongst various target groups, of which the
prison population will be the first.

Project Consultancy and International Management NV will be
responsible for the two-month period of gathering information from
the inmates. The firm will be charged with the responsibility of
administering the questionnaires, analysing the data and presenting
a report with the preliminary results.

She said several goals should be realised at the completion of the
project, including demographic information on drugs/substance
abusers through surveys conducted amongst students, parents, inmates
and the out-of-school population. She said the impact of substance
abuse and the psychological determinacy played a role in one's
behaviour in relation to becoming involved in drug use.

She said the project was important for the island territory, as
limited data was available on the local drug situation. The
available data is primarily of those persons who are being treated
medically for their addictive behaviour. However, behaviour
information on the adult population, prison population and
other target groups is missing.

Additionally, she stated that a training course would be given this
month to persons in the Windward Islands using the Rapid Assessment
and Response (RAR) method, which will enable surveys to be carried
out more effectively and efficiently. The training will be carried
out in collaboration with Trimbos Institute of the Netherlands and
The Quill Foundation of St. Eustatius, and is being financed by the
Dutch Government.