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EU, Caricom should strengthen partnership against use of illicit drugs

Mar 08, 2009 News

– Caricom official

The Caricom Secretariat’s Programme Manager for Sustainable Development, Beverley Reynolds, has made an impassioned plea for the region’s territories and the European Union to strengthen the partnership in waging the war against the use of illicit drugs in the Caribbean.
She declared that the region’s sustainable development was seriously threatened by this social malady.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Meeting of the European Union and Latin American and Caribbean Countries in Montego Bay, Jamaica, on Friday last, Reynolds stated that the problems and challenges associated with illegal drugs were not confined to any borders and as such, needed a global partnership and not just a national response.
She pointed to data that indicated that treatment for substance abusers worked effectively and served to assist in reducing the demand for illegal drugs, explaining further that those who accessed quality treatment make successful transitions through the rehabilitation period to lead socially acceptable lives.
During her presentation, Reynolds added that it was important to highlight this fact since invariably, the challenges confronting drug treatment practitioners and the social decay of the Region caused by illicit drugs very often belie the efforts invested in the work.
Relaying appreciation from the Caricom Secretariat for the collaboration with the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD), in sharing best practices, Reynolds held out hope that the deliberations would forge stronger ties with EU partners, but more importantly, would define a tangible plan for moving forward in the drug treatment and rehabilitation services sector.
All speakers at the workshop agreed that drug abuse was breaking down family structures and consequently destroying the social fabric of society.
Mayor of Kingston, Desmond Mckenzie said that ‘Drug Lords’ across Latin American and Caribbean cities were using their ill-gotten affluence to control and manipulate persons in some disadvantaged communities and law enforcers.
This, he said, posed a dangerous threat to the socio-economic stability of Jamaica which is perceived as a ‘transshipment point.’
Chairman of the National Council on Drug Abuse (NCDA) of Jamaica, Dr Earl Wright noted that the social detonates from illicit drugs were wreaking havoc on the Jamaican economy, particularly on the health sector which he said, spends approximately $2B annually on trauma related injuries, the majority of which is caused by drug abuse.
The two-day EU-LAC Twin City meeting is convened to identify interventions at national levels for improving drug treatment services in participating European and Caricom cities.
The meeting is convened immediately after the first regional training workshop on Standards of Care for Treatment and Rehabilitation Facilities for Substance Abusers, organised jointly by the Caricom Secretariat and CICAD to develop standards of care for drug treatment. (Caribbeannetnews)

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