Studies show C’bean drug use increasing

The alarming statement was made yesterday by Reynolds as she addressed the opening of the three-day Regional Seminar on Drug Treatment and Drug Information Networks in the Caribbean, at the Police Training Academy, St James.

Reynolds said there is another hurricane, in the form of illicit drugs which has been silently and insidiously wreaking havoc in the region.

She said studies show a lowered age of first time users equally between males and females.

“It takes only one Hurricane a few hours to wipe out an entire country.

Such is the vulnerability of the Caribbean region. We see the ravages in the lives of our young people and the erosion of the democratic processes on which our societies are founded.” She continued, “School surveys conducted by CICAD/OAS show a steady increase in the use of illicit drugs, in particular marijuana and crack/cocaine and more recently ecstasy and methamphetamine.” Reynolds said the problems of illicit drugs include: negatively impacting the lives of young people and their families, the high economic cost and burden on the health, security, labour, education, and tourism sectors.

“When we juxtapose this situation against the deleterious effect of illicit drug use on the youth’s population, we can no longer subscribe to the popular belief that ‘what you don’t know can’t hurt you.’ I say what we don’t know can hurt us and will continue to hurt us until we fix it.” Reynolds said it is her hope the seminar and training workshop is one of the many activities being undertaken to strengthen capacity for effective drug reduction services and programmes.