It seeks to determine the periodicity of the consumption of psychoactive substances, the relationship of consumption with factors such as sex, age, occupation, schooling and others.
The District Department of Health, together with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), has been carrying out the third District Study of the Use of Psychoactive Substances in Bogotá, with the purpose of knowing the situation of use of psychoactive substances in the city, to evaluate and make decisions according to the results, in order to improve care programs.
The study seeks to determine the periodicity of the consumption of psychoactive substances, the relationship of consumption with factors such as sex, age, occupation, education, socioeconomic level and place of residence, as well as detect patterns of consumption of the various substances, risk perception prevention programs, among others.
According to data obtained in the previous study in 2016, 16% of the people surveyed reported having used an illicit drug at least once in their lives (including: marijuana, cocaine, bazuco, ecstasy, inhalants, dick, heroin ), with 22.9% in the case of men and 10.8% among women, so it is important to assess the current situation given the conditions of the city and the changes in population dynamics.
The collection of information for the current study is carried out through the application of a survey, to later carry out the analysis of the information, as well as the elaboration and socialization of the final document with the results found; It is important to keep in mind that all the data of the people who provide the information are totally confidential.
Currently, the data is being obtained through the surveys being carried out by the teams of the Centro Nacional de Consultoría, with which it is expected to reach 10,800 households in the localities, carrying out 9,585 surveys in the urban area and 1,215 in the rural area of the localities. .
The representatives of the polling firm are duly uniformed and will arrive door-to-door with questions about the use of psychoactive substances and their impact during the covid-19 pandemic, which will take place until September from Sunday to Sunday between 8 a.m. :00 AM m. and 6:00 p.m. m.
Bearing in mind that participation is voluntary and all the information is private and confidential, an invitation is made to the public to attend the interviewer.
The third District Study of the Use of Psychoactive Substances in Bogotá is based on the guidelines of the Uniform Information System on Drug Use in the member countries of the Organization of American States (OAS).
With the results obtained in the study carried out in this year 2022, the District Health Secretariat hopes to review the different prevention and care programs, the service of the District Psychoactive Line, the actions in the caregiver environments, among other aspects.
Cannabis community in Bogotá
In March, the District Department of Health revealed the results of the first survey of the cannabis community in Bogotá and the surrounding region, to understand their consumption habits.
After processing 4,564 surveys, the District Department of Health determined that people in the cannabis community are at an average age of study, are mostly single and those who are not, have opted for free union as a form of coexistence in partner and a large percentage (72.9%) contribute to the health service.
This population is mainly from the middle and upper middle socioeconomic segment; Most of them study, work or study and work, and the main positions they occupy are professionals, technicians, public and private employees or independent merchants.
The Secretary of Health, Alejandro Gómez, clarified at the time that “this survey is not an activity to promote the use of cannabis, but neither is it a document to stigmatize the community. It is a step of respect that we have as a society to get to know each other and demystify based on knowledge.”
And he stressed that "we have to continue walking in this process of building public policies, based not on assumptions, but on objective realities, and the best way is to ask people", as is the case with this survey, which is a tool of value for the construction of public policy.
The survey found that for recreational cannabis users, the goal is not only to spend free time alone or with others, but 24% do so to develop a functional activity such as work, study, artistic production or reading, while 14% consume it in the same way as doing a sporting activity. Using cannabis orally or topically from salves, ointments, lotions and oils occupies about 40% of routes of administration.
On the other hand, the survey determined that the illegal market occupies about 50% of the total acquisition, the other 50% is divided equally between individual self-cultivation, collective self-cultivation and gifts.
Article taken from semana.com