Gaps in drug treatment for young people remain unfunded – report
Gaps in drug abuse treatment for young people remain unfunded, according to a new report just published.
The Bermuda Drug Information Network’s annual report also highlighted that demand for drugs remains unchanged and significant challenges persist in the island’s ability to properly address the needs of substance users, their families, and the community.
It added: “Gaps in substance abuse treatment services for youth, especially on-island residential treatment, remains unfunded.
“The Mental Health Court remains operational, although a lack of an inpatient, medically-monitored substance abuse treatment programme/service makes placing dual-diagnosed clients in treatment even more difficult.”
And it adds: “Additionally, the Covid-19 pandemic directly impacted the ability to service persons in need of substance abuse treatment, especially during the shelter in place and stay at home orders.
“Added to the challenges, synthetic drugs, such as shatter, cannabis wax substances, and other concentrates, were reported to be used in the community and with rising popularity in terms of use.”
Criminal trials and convictions for drug and alcohol-related offences went down in 2019 and 2020 from the previous two years, due to Covid. Statistics show that 147 people were convicted of drug-related offences in 2018, compared with 63 in 2020.
The 2021 BerDIN report, which covered 2019 and 2020, is its 11th report and examines how changing alcohol and drug products and global policies highlight the importance of prevention efforts, as well as and the continued need for enforcement of already established laws.
The report added: “In a time of public health crisis, data collection is often negatively impacted due to shifting priorities. In some jurisdictions, data collection was halted altogether; however, we are thankful to be able to continue to monitor the current drug situation with only a few data sets not being available.
“Our individual and collective mandates are vital as we respond to the challenges faced by demand and supply reduction in a time of Covid-19.
“There is much work ahead and only through your engagement and support can we reduce the harms associated with alcohol and drug use. As a community, we must stand together in this time of uncertainty.”
The annual Bermuda Drug Information Network Report is available online for the public to review and can be found here.
Need to
Know
2. Please respect the use of this community forum and its users.
3. Any poster that insults, threatens or verbally abuses another member, uses defamatory language, or deliberately disrupts discussions will be banned.
4. Users who violate the Terms of Service or any commenting rules will be banned.
5. Please stay on topic. "Trolling" to incite emotional responses and disrupt conversations will be deleted.
6. To understand further what is and isn't allowed and the actions we may take, please read our Terms of Service
