As part of the province's activities for the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, the inaugural conference of the Provincial Drug Observatory was held. The event, attended by patients, family members, and specialists, served as the stage for the official presentation of an institution that marks a turning point for the province.
Las Tunas, Cuba.- This is the first observatory of its kind in Cuba, and one of the first at the provincial level in the world, with three working networks, consolidating Las Tunas as a replicable model for the rest of the country and a benchmark in Latin America.
The conference was led by Dr. Alejandro Mestre Barroso, a specialist in Toxicology, who detailed the background and scope of this project. "The observatory didn't emerge from nothing; it's the culmination of a process that began in December 2023, when a group of residents from Las Tunas specialized in Toxicology at the National Toxicology Center in Havana. For almost 40 years, the province hadn't had a Toxicology specialist. It wasn't that one wasn't needed; it was that we hadn't had that specialty."
Upon the arrival of this specialty in the province, the doctors noticed an increase in the consumption of drugs of abuse, aggravated by a general lack of knowledge, even within the health sector, about what types of substances were circulating.
"In 2023, there was a year-round consumption report. When we started working, in the second half of the year, we began publishing our first studies," the specialist noted, referring to articles published in the newspaper 26. It was then that, with the support of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, the Provincial Delegation, and the Provincial Drug Subgroup, the territorial project "Intervention Strategy for the Prevention and Control of Drug Abuse Consumption" emerged.
One of its most important outcomes has been the creation of the Observatory, fulfilling the presidential mandate that problems be solved through science and a multisectoral approach.
Dr. Mestre Barroso framed its creation within an alarming global reality, where a considerable percentage of the world's population uses drugs, many of them leading to death. One of the most alarming findings for specialists is the high concentration of consumers in the Americas, particularly in the United States, where marijuana or its synthetic derivatives, known as synthetic cannabinoids, are most commonly consumed. These are pharmacologically much more potent and addictive than natural marijuana.
"In Cuba, the increase in consumption post-pandemic has been dramatic, with a rise of over 200 percent compared to the pre-pandemic period. In 2024, the National Toxicology Center reported 600 cases, of which more than 90 percent involved synthetic drugs. That's just the tip of the iceberg," warned Mestre Barroso.
This situation led to the creation of the Cuban National Drug Observatory on July 4, 2025, a sectoral project of the Ministry of Justice that includes three lines of investigation: an early warning network, an investigation network, and an information network. However, the specialist pointed out a fundamental weakness of the National Observatory: its lack of a sector-level network, which is where the problem lies. It is in this gap that the Las Tunas Observatory emerges, to bring science, surveillance, and prevention to the territory.
THE REALITY IN LAS TUNAS
One of the project's most significant contributions is the epidemiological characterization of the province, which has yielded illuminating data. The most prevalent drug in Las Tunas is synthetic cannabinoids, primarily in their "paper" form. The study shows an increase in reported cases of consumption of over 81.4 percent between 2024 and 2025. However, the researchers clarify that this figure does not necessarily mean that consumption has increased, but rather that there is a greater demand for help, as people now know where to turn.
"The polyclinic with the highest consumption in our province is the Gustavo Aldereguía, and it was the health area where we began the pilot studies, where the most promotion and prevention efforts were carried out, and where the most cases were detected.”
"The age range with the highest consumption is concentrated between 14 and 25 years old, although there have been cases of patients who began using drugs as young as 8 years old. Although the predominant sex is male, an increase in female consumption has been detected, which has resulted in a rise in pregnant addicts.”
"Almost 50 percent of the families were functional, with well-defined rules, and with university-educated parents," the specialist emphasized, debunking the myth that addiction only occurs in dysfunctional environments.
The institution will maintain the same three lines of action as the National Observatory. Las Tunas already has experience that makes it a national benchmark, as it was the province that first raised the alarm about the use of drugs for chemical submission.
This center aspires to become the provincial leader in epidemiological surveillance and a replicable model for the rest of the provinces. Among its immediate plans is the creation of an official website where monthly, semi-annual, and annual reports will be published, so that the public and the press have access to reliable and up-to-date information.