Neil Nunes investigates the different ways that drugs are perceived in Caribbean society and how young people are reacting to the influences around them.
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Facts about marijuana
• A British study in 2002 found that most people who experiment with cannabis in the Caribbean become regular users
• A Dutch study found that those who smoke large amounts of marijuana are seven times as likely to display psychotic symptoms three years later
• Some advocates of ganja point to its medicinal use, and say that the link between cannabis use and brain damage is not totally convincing
SOURCE: guardian.co.uk
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Cleon Athill, a teacher at the Princess Margaret Secondary School in Antigua, has watched the effect of drugs on the learning process in her students. She has found that when students use drugs, particularly marijuana, their motivation decreases. She believes in a holistic approach to drugs education. This includes teaching skills that assist decision-making, and getting pupils to focus on their education. Sometimes it seems that she is making progress. However, she feels that the mixed messages from society, which says that it’s OK to drink beer but not to smoke marijuana, do not help.
Ronnie Wilmot works for the Network of Community Drug Action Committees (CODAC) in Rawlington Town. He says that you can’t isolate drug addiction from the wider community. Most of the regular users he has encountered have emotional or psychological problems. Ronnie uses methods which are different from the traditional way of simply saying “don’t use drugs!” He works with people one to one, and encourages them to come in for counselling. He points to some success stories, such as the seven ex-addicts who are now registered on a training programme sponsored by the Caribbean Cement Company.
In Clarendon at
Vere Technical High School, two pupil groups - the Teens Against Drugs Club and the Peer Counsellors Group - have combined their efforts to counter the effects of drugs in their school. The teenagers educate their peers about drug addiction, which they believe is more effective as many pupils don’t feel they can talk to their parents about drugs.
