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U.S warns of potential threat of opioids to Guyana, other C’bean states
Terry Steers-Gonzalez, Chargé d’ Affaires speaking at the seminar
A senior U.S. Embassy official in Georgetown has warned about the threat of opioids to Guyana and the Caribbean region.
Chargé d’ Affaires, Terry Steers-Gonzalez, made the disclosure at a regional two-day seminar on illicit drugs which concluded yesterday at Ramada Georgetown Hotel.
“Fentanyl, heroin and other opioids, have appeared in a number of Latin American countries and, as such, these substances are a potential threat to the Caribbean, as well,” Steers-Gonzalez stated.
Although opioid use has historically been problematic mainly in North America, Steers-Gonzalez pointed out that the use of these substances has been spreading throughout the Americas.
He told representatives from drug observatories and agencies, that further efforts of observatories will address the use and flow of opioids throughout the hemisphere.
“Drug observatories and drug information networks will play a crucial role in stemming the tide of opioid use, a key goal of President Trump,” said Steers-Gonzalez.
Reports indicate that the U.S. is in the midst of one of its worst-ever drug crises, with more than eight hundred people a week dying from opioid-related overdoses and millions more Americans suffering from opioid addiction.
Opioids, a class of drugs derived from the opium poppy plant, can be divided into two broad categories – legally manufactured medications and illicit narcotics.
According to research, medications including oxycodone, hydrocodone and morphine, are commonly prescribed to treat pain, but it has intensified in recent years with an influx of cheap heroin and synthetic opioids, like fentanyl, supplied by foreign-based drug cartels.
A senior embassy spokesperson subsequently told Kaieteur News that the renewed U.S. focus on opioids has no implication for future funding to Guyana to fight other illicit drugs like cocaine.
However, to accomplish the goals, Steers-Gonzalez outlined that it is important to strengthen drug information networks so that they can also serve as early warning systems for opioids and new psychoactive substances which may not be detectable in traditional sample surveys.
“Drug observatories will strengthen the capacity to move from data to policy and program development, improve the availability and quality of supply control and law enforcement drug-related data, and improve the monitoring and evaluation of drug-related programs,” Steers-Gonzalez pointed out.
He stated that the U.S. Government has and will continue to support around the world.
Through the U.S. Government’s Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), the United States heavily supports efforts to combat illicit drug trafficking and other international crimes through capacity building, local donations, and technical assistance, of which drug observatories are a crucial component.
According to the U.S., past support for drug observatories in the Caribbean include the implementation of 15 drug use surveys in secondary schools since 2013; provision of technical and financial support for data collection, analysis, and reporting; rapid situation assessments on drugs in three countries in the past two years; and national and regional training workshops for national observatories and drug information networks, including the seminar held in Guyana.
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