St. John's, Antigua -- A prominent doctor said he would indeed prescribe medical marijuana to patients if the drug were decriminalised in Antigua & Barbuda. Sir Prince Ramsey relayed that the positives of medicinal marijuana use outweigh the negatives associated with it -- a position that he has held for the last 12 years. "It is the misuse of the drug that causes the problem. They misuse the drug by using too much and get addicted and that is the problem," the doctor said in an interview with OBSERVER Media. [continues 372 words]
St. John's, Antigua -- Many have come out in support of decriminalising marijuana use in Antigua & Barbuda, but former prison boss Eric Henry said he is yet to be convinced to join the band wagon. Admitting he lacks the medical expertise to guide his views, he said experience during his years in law enforcement and exposure to many who have been affected by their repeated use of the drug convinces him it should remain a criminal offence here. "People say there are so many smoking cigarettes that gives you cancer and drinking rum that gives sclerosis of the liver but marijuana has medicinal purposes for glaucoma and asthma," Henry said. "People can say what they like. People take things and turn them to suit their thing. But I am a graduate of the Police Academy in Washington DC in Narco (narcotics) and from the training, let me tell you there are many ups and downs to it and I wouldn't support it." [continues 204 words]
St. John's Antigua- An internationally recognized drug policy reform advocate has said Antigua & Barbuda need not fear the wrath of the United States if government chooses to decriminalise small amounts of marijuana. "What it boils down to is that any country, even a small country like Antigua, can decriminalise and end the criminalisation of (cannabis) possession unilaterally, with virtually no negative feedback from other countries," Ethan Nadelmann, founder and executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance in New York said in an exclusive interview with OBSERVER Media. [continues 399 words]
St. John's Antigua- A move to consider the decriminalisation of small amounts of marijuana in Belize has evoked reaction locally. Rastafarian elder King Frank-I said Antigua & Barbuda's Rastafarian community, which has been making repeated calls for the drug to be decriminalised, wants authorities here to pattern the Belize model. The government of Belize is looking into the possibility of allowing small amounts of marijuana possession in an effort to clear up space in the country's overcrowded jails. [continues 254 words]
A leading local advocate for the decriminalisation of marijuana does not believe his efforts (and that of others like-minded) will be crippled by the latest US Justice Department ruling. The American federal government has officially declared that marijuana (or cannabis) has "no accepted medical use" and should remain classified as "a dangerous and addictive drug." What this means is that in the US, marijuana continues to be regarded in the same category as other potent (and illegal) drugs like cocaine and heroin. [continues 329 words]
The United States Navy offered some assistance to the Caribbean region as the individual territories try to come to terms with the potential dangers each may be exposed to through travel on the high seas by a variety of entities. Right off the bat, one would feel very safe in suggesting there are two key areas under extreme scrutiny. There is, first of all, the scourge that is the trans-shipment of illegal drugs and their accompanying arms and ammunition. These have been known over the years to have a great negative impact on the region, as matters relating to crime and the erosion of countries' human resource base seem inextricably linked one to the other. [continues 517 words]
The Caribbean Community (Caricom) continues to battle the world economic forces that has driven-up the cost of living in the region and made a reality of negative food challenges, which now exist in many households. Despite this phenomenon, the problems created by the drug trade still permeate the strata of society and continue to be a source of concern for the health, welfare and security of many citizens. For example, users of illegal drugs may turn to crime to pay for their habit, and this could affect the lives of family members, friends and generally other people. [continues 755 words]
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. [continues 564 words]
To quash allegations by the public about what happens to drugs when they are seized by police, they destroyed over 4,000 marijuana plants on Wednesday. According to the public relations officer of the force, Cromwell Henry, "there have been allegations about what happens to drugs that come into police custody, some persons allege that police officers sell the drugs, some allege that the police use the drugs so we take this opportunity to show to the public that the drugs are in fact destroyed by the police." [continues 93 words]
It was more than a decade ago that violent crime started to force citizens of this Federation to take notice of its presence. At one stage, it appeared as though the phenomenon, at least as far as St. Kitts/Nevis was concerned, had consumed the majority of the people in the country. The frequency in which people were being robbed, beaten and even killed was alarming. Further, the situation was so alien to the citizens of this country that many were not even sure how to react to it. [continues 583 words]
Dear Editor: I find it simply amazing that a little country like St. Kitts/Nevis can have a total of 17 murders in each of the last two years. Everyone is probably keeping fingers crossed that it does not get any worse than it is now. It is a clear indication that as much as the security forces of the country are trying to keep a lid on violent crime the thing continues to bubble over. There is no doubt in anybody's mind that all of this started with something that is a scourge to many countries, illegal drugs. Once this is prevalent anywhere near the country, things like this will continue to happen. It therefore means that the authorities of St. Kitts/Nevis have to come up with a strategy that will effectively combat the activities of drug traffickers, local dealers and those who use drugs. [continues 224 words]
Regional experts associated with probation services will gather in Antigua next week for a workshop that will seek to devise alternatives to incarceration. The conference is set to run from 26 - 28 Nov., at the Jolly Beach Resort. The conference is organised by the Caribbean Drug Abuse Research Institute and supported by DrugScope UK and the University of Kent, UK. The workshop is also supported, in part, by a grant from the UK government's Department for International Development. The main focus of the workshop will be looking at diverting low level and petty offenders from incarceration and utilising community service as an alternative. Several local practitioners from the Probation Office and other governmental and non-governmental organisations will form part of the Antiguan delegation. Approximately 30 overseas participants are expected on island. [continues 113 words]
Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer has called on the United Nations to increase the flow of assistance to the Caribbean to deal with the upsurge in crime, noting that "the bulk of violent crimes is drug related." He further slammed countries like the US for its policy of deporting criminals, calling it a "monstrous assault on several of our societies. "It so happens that the bulk of narco-trafficking activity in our region is linked to illegal drugs bound for North America and Europe," the prime minister told the 62nd General Assembly of the United Nations last Friday. [continues 280 words]
Two officers of the Royal St. Christopher/Nevis Police Force are currently in Grenada participating in a meeting/workshop designed to review recent drug-use studies while strengthening the abilities of "drug demand reduction practitioners" to effectively implement and maintaining drug prevention programmes. Acting Commissioner of Police in the Royal Federation Stafford Liburd confirmed that Sergeant Leah Phipps, who is attached to the Drug Unit and Inspector Lyndon David, local co-ordinator of the Drug Awareness Resistance Education (DARE) Programme, are representing the Federation at the meeting. [continues 286 words]
The Substance Abuse Prevention Division will be expanding its school programme this year in order to sustain its efforts to reduce drug use in the schools. "We are changing the programme and adding a new focus because we see how drug abuse in schools is negatively affecting our children's education," Substance Abuse Officer Norma Jeffrey-Dorset stated. She said they have observed that the children using illegal substances, especially marijuana, have been getting younger and younger. So, instead of providing sessions for one term in the selected schools, the officers will be targeting a school for the entire school year. Additionally, the department will be expanding the programme to outside school hours and extend it to the community. [continues 325 words]
Operation resurrection! This is the term that describes in a very graphic fashion the attempt to decriminalise marijuana. There are many political parties who have vowed to ease the pressure on the weed. Some writers are dreaming of the day when it could be placed in the fields, in the yards, in schools, even in prisons. The marijuana lobbyists are ignoring the results of the latest research that shows the relationship between marijuana and schizophrenia. Researchers such as Nahas, Sulkowski, Morishima have shown that marijuana smoking is as catastrophic as tobacco smoking. They have stated that marijuana smokers suffer from bronchitis, emphysema, lung cancer and other cancers, damage to the T-lymphocytes, damage to the limbic system of the brain that is responsible for short-term memory and emotional stability. [continues 361 words]
A man, who said he was on his way home to make tea from cannabis, was arrested by the police for having the illegal drug in his possession before he was able to get on the way. Antonio Lewis appeared in the St. John's Magistrates Court yesterday and pleaded guilty to the charge. Reportedly he had told his friend what he was going home to do shortly before the police came on the scene. He was reprimanded and discharged. The court heard that on Friday 27 April about 1:30 p.m. police officers were on mobile patrol duty in the Ovals area, when they saw Lewis, 21. [continues 71 words]
While the Drug Awareness Resistance Education (DARE) Programme is said to be geared towards educating children about drug abuse, violence and other criminal behaviour, the local DARE Coordinator Sgt. Lyndon David is underscoring its benefits to teachers. David explained that the benefits of DARE programme to children were quite evident but he continued that the programme was just as beneficial to teachers as it was to students. "The DARE programme has a positive impact on the students and also there are a lot of teachers who like the programme and they also are involved in the programme. [continues 286 words]
Operation Future is spreading its wings and in addition to paying visits to the primary schools on island, has begun tackling the high schools. The first stop was at the eastern end of the Basseterre Senior High School last Friday where students and teachers there were exposed to or reminded of the very real reality of the increase in drug use and criminal activity in the Federation of St. Christopher and Nevis. Operation Future members took with them, a number of illegal drugs and the paraphernalia which was used to ingest these substances. These items were shown to the students and teachers and they were reminded of the harmful physical and social effects of the use and abuse of these substances. [continues 298 words]
Although the new and revised Drug Awareness Resistance Education (DARE) Curriculum has been implemented in the primary and secondary schools around the Federation, its official launch is not scheduled to take place until later this month. The revised curriculum was introduced to prospective and existing DARE officers from St. Kitts/Nevis and other countries of the OECS some two weeks ago. These officers underwent two weeks of training in St. Kitts. The new curriculum was to have been launched last Thursday however, it has to be postponed and Local DARE Officer Matthew McGuire explained that the launch should be held in the near future. [continues 109 words]
While the battle against rise in drugs and crime in the Federation of St. Kitts/Nevis does not rest solely on the shoulders of DARE (Drug Awareness Resistance Education) teachers, their role in the fight has been described as a paramount one. During the opening ceremony of the Caribbean DARE Officers Training Workshop on Monday, Acting Commissioner of Police, Meredith Charles, in speaking to existing and prospective DARE officers explained that if the DARE programme is to be successful, DARE teachers/DARE officers must exhibit commitment. [continues 264 words]
Dear Editor: Good intentions are no substitute for effective drug education. Independent evaluations of Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) have found the programme to be either ineffective or counterproductive. The scare tactics used do more harm than good. Students who realise they've been lied to about marijuana may make the mistake of assuming that harder drugs like cocaine are relatively harmless as well. This is a recipe for disaster. Drug education programmes must be reality-based or they may backfire when kids are inevitably exposed to drug use among their peers. [continues 109 words]
Some 98 students of the Villa and Cedar Grove Primary Schools successfully completed the DARE programme last Thursday, and friends, family and government officials turned out to celebrate with them at their graduation at the Villa Baptist Church. The noteworthy attendees at the ceremony included Minister of Education Bertrand Joseph, Minister of Justice Colin Derrick, and Commissioner of Police, Delano Christopher. The Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) programme originated, in 1983, through the collaborative effort of the Los Angeles Police Department and the Unified School District. The mission of DARE is to provide children with the information they need to live drug free. [continues 210 words]
The commissioner of police said the DARE programme conducted in primary schools is suffering from a lack of trained officers and as a result, some schools have been neglected. The Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) programme originated in 1983 through the collaborative effort of the Los Angeles Police Department and the Unified School District. The mission of DARE is to provide children with the information they need to live drug free. The Antiguan programme, since its inception in 1997, has now spread to 20 schools from the four it started out with. [continues 210 words]
Inside Antigua and Barbuda
