It is hoped that with the advent of the drug courts, there will also be a change in the system of sentencing drug abusers, so that one-third of their incarceration is spent within the confines of Glendairy and the remainder of the time in a half-way facility.

Co-ordinator of the National Council on Substance Abuses Inmate Drug Rehabilitation and Counselling Programme, Cephus Sealey said that this move would help inmates to better cope with their recovery when they are released. Speaking at a press conference yesterday at the United Nations House hosted by the National Council on Substance Abuse (NCSA) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), to launch the NCSAs programme for Drug Awareness Month, Sealy lamented that as there is no mandatory follow-up programme in place, many inmates on release do not seek further assistance to beat their habit.

[continues 231 words]

Since January, through the Probation Department and some of the Government secondary schools, 36 persons were referred to the Coalition Against Substance Abuse (CASA) for counselling. Word of this came from director of CASA, Orlando Jones, in a recent interview with the Barbados Advocate as he spoke of the changes the organisation has undergone since the beginning of the year.

Referring to statistics collated over the past months, Jones noted that between January and early December some 19 students were referred to them by the secondary schools, with the primary problem being marijuana use.

[continues 541 words]