A 50 per cent jump in the number of children seeking assistance at public medical facilities for ganja-related illnesses in Jamaica since the weed was decriminalised in 2015, is causing worry for local health officials.

With 70 per cent of the population having easy access to ganja and law making possession of up to two ounces no longer a criminal offence, children - some as young as 12 years old - have been trying the weed in its many different forms.

Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton last week told The Sunday Gleaner that he was very unhappy with the findings.

"The drug treatment programme of the ministry, primarily for persons affected by marijuana usage, and in particular since the decriminalisation of two ounces or less, has shown a 50 per cent increase in persons - young people, schoolchildren, adolescents - which raises a lot of concern for us," said Tufton