GONE TO POT

NEARLY all the cases being brought before the juvenile court in
Barbados are drug-related.

This startling observation from Magistrate Faith Marshall-Harris, who
wants the fight against illegal drugs fought at several levels.

She told a national audience while participating in STARCOM's radio
call-in programme Brass Tacks Sunday yesterday that the illegal drugs
situation affected the entire society.

Marshall-Harris, who presides over the Juvenile Court, said nearly 90
per cent of the crimes heard in that court had some link to drug use
and the offenders were from all strata of society.

She said that it was now "realised that the child who is wondering,
the child who is not performing at school, the child who is now
stealing and so on . . . that in fact drugs are a major engine of
junvenile offences".

Marshall-Harris said the illegal drugs problem affected the entire
society and pointed to the 13 to 17 age group as the biggest problem,
adding that use of illegal drugs must not only be highlighted as
illegal but detrimental to one's health.

The magistrate was one of the participants in the programme that looked

at the recently released findings of a national drugs survey
undertaken by the National Council on Substance Abuse (NCSA). Manager
of that agency Tessa Chadderton-Shaw also participated in the call-in
programme.

What was of particular concern to her was the growing tolerance of
public usage of marijuana in Barbados at a time when cannabis and
alcohol remained the drugs of choice.

"People seem to be smoking more openly on the streets and that is
something that we at the NCSA are concerned about," Chadderton-Shaw said.

She added that the higher the level of tolerance the greater the
challenge to combat the problem.

Victor Roach of the National Council for the Prevention of Alcohol
and Drugs noted that there was no need for gloom and doom, since
those in the fight against illegal drugs would not be discouraged.

"We're not on a campaign to eliminate drugs . . . we're trying to
control drugs . . . we have to set ourselves realistic targets and
work on objectives that we can meet," Roach said.

He, however, urged all the groups involved in fighting drug abuse and
undertaking rehabilitation efforts to continue their collaboration
since there were strengths and weaknesses in the various anti-drug programmes.