Pubdate: Wed, 06 Feb 2008 Source: Sun St. Kitts and Nevis (Antigua) Copyright: 2008 SUN Printing & Publishing LTD Contact: http://sunstkitts.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4295 THE CONTINUING DRUG SCOURGE There have been many wars waged on different fronts, all with the same goal in mind and that is to rid countries of the illegal drug trade that continues to flourish despite these efforts. The statistics are not readily at hand but one cannot be too far off, if it were suggested that drugs continue to wreak havoc on the minds of the young people of several countries of the region and have been responsible for a high percentage of the people we see walking zombie-like around the various cities making a nuisance of themselves as they confront other members of the public seeking to find ways to obtain material for their next drug binge. Of course, the behaviour differs and whereas some of these people can be quite mild in their approaches, others can be downright hostile, not offering the best impression to especially visitors to our shores. And try as they may, the authorities and various other stakeholders trying to staunch the flow of drugs into the country through various educational programmes have not been meeting with the success they desire. Indeed, those addicted to the various substances are only a part of a very huge problem. Of course, they affect the overall aesthetics of cities that are meant to be as free of blemish as possible, especially for the hundreds of thousands of visitors who contribute towards their economic development and, by extension, that of the quality of life of all citizens and residents. Further, some of these people, though they might appear to have their wits about them, only carry a faA'ade which is broken once the need for drugs become more acute. These are the ones who still have fair control of their faculties and these are probably the more dangerous ones as they still have the thinking power and the physical strength to carry out various acts of violence as they try to put their hands on money in a quest to try and stay on top of their habit. One major area that really needs maximum attention, however, is just how so much of the illegal drugs find their way into the countries and further how can the situation be arrested so that so many of our young people are not caught up in it in one way or the other. We have already seen just how much it affects countries' crime figures, especially when it comes to those of a particularly violent nature. All this is generally accepted as being part and parcel with the turf wars which drugs bring, as people try to hold on to or gain new territory in their quest to be the number one kingpin. There is little doubt in anybody's mind now that drugs and violence make a very deadly combination. Meanwhile, local law enforcement agencies continue to play catch-up as the drug lords and their disciples try their best to keep control of territories they have marked out for themselves and are willing to do whatever it takes to keep them that way. Sadly, there are times when innocent people get caught in the crossfire. Sometimes, family members die without anyone knowing the reason why, though, in cases like these, the involvement in a drug matter is usually put forward as a likely cause. The most worrisome thing though is that now, even the very young people are being affected by the illegal drugs - not a good situation at all for our countries. Recently, there has been much talk about the Caribbean losing its place as a major drug transhipment point and we say good riddance though it may mean that some of the traffickers could well become more desperate to succeed. This should help to make them expose themselves so they might be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law. Then, attention can be paid to recovering and rebuilding from what has devastated so many lives over the last two decades or so. The Caribbean will be the richer because of their exodus. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake