Apdar claims cocaine more dangerous than heroin |06 July 2020
The Agency for Prevention of Drug Abuse and Rehabilitation has recorded an increase in persons using cocaine and cannabis, two drugs that the agency says it does not have a treatment for unlike heroine with methadone.
In an interview broadcast on the Seychelles Broadcasting Company (SBC) on Saturday night, an officer from the Agency for Prevention of Drug Abuse and Rehabilitation (Apdar) noted that because there are no treatments for the abuse of cocaine, aside from counseling sessions and treating their symptoms, this drug can prove to be more detrimental.
“This drug is in some ways more dangerous than heroin because it is a stimulant. Heroin is a depressant which is why heroin users are always dozing off. However, stimulants can make you more aggressive so you can imagine the implications,” said Yvana Thérésine, director for prevention and education at Apdar.
It is to be noted that studies conducted in other countries such as the United Kingdom have ranked alcohol as the most dangerous drug based on impact on user, impact on crime and socio-economic effects, and it is quickly followed by heroin, crack cocaine, methamphetamine and cocaine. These analyses have also ranked tobacco’s impact to be quite substantial and even higher than marijuana use.
There are currently 2,500 individuals on Apdar’s methadone programme who have to undergo regular urine tests and screening during their rehabilitation.
Aside from heroin, these drug tests screens for 11 other drugs including amphetamine, methamphetamine, ecstasy, cocaine and marijuana.
Through these tests, Apdar has deduced a 10% reduction in individuals who tested positive for heroin between January and March 2020 compared to the same period last year.
Apdar has welcomed this trend but is nonetheless concerned over the increasing use of marijuana, with 65% testing positive between January and March, much more than those testing positive for heroin.
Also a major point of concern is that around 18% of screened individuals were tested positive for cocaine in 2020 compared to only 3% in 2019.
The agency has however stressed that it does not presently have the adequate facilities to treat the number of people on these drugs since they are already working with heroin users.
This is why the agency is in dire need of a rehabilitation centre, Ms Thérésine added.
In 2019, the police drug force Anti-Narcotics Bureau (ANB) seized around 3kg of cocaine, 6.1kg of heroin, 15.57kg of cannabis and its derivatives, and 767 cannabis plants
It further registered 1,007 cases including 22 cases of growing illegal plants, 12 cases of bringing in illicit drugs, 169 cases of trafficking in drugs and 797 cases of possession.
Earlier this year, Apdar flew in 1.3 tons of methadone and equipment from India to cater to its heroin replacement programme.
Elsie Pointe