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.