EDITORIAL: Embrace anti-drug messages

Numerous anti-drug messages have been pushed at youth over the years, advising and encouraging them to stay away from the use and abuse of drugs.

However, as has happened at times, some of our youth have been given mixed-messages about drugs, by close people in their circle. Some time ago, those at the helm of the National Council on Substance Abuse acknowledged that they had a task on their hands, as the organisation was confronted with a situation that saw drug prevention education messages, delivered to primary and secondary school students, being challenged at the level of the home. A call was made at the time for Parent Education Workshops to complement the work the NCSA was doing, to reach out to youth.

Now it can be said that countless workshops have been organised, posters have been plastered across many walls, messages have been transmitted via the radio and television, and many celebrities have joined in the effort to reach our youth, telling them bluntly that a drug-free life is the best one to live. However, key youth advocates have noted that it is very hard at times to get through to some students, who come up seeing their relatives, mainly male ones, selling drugs and making a good living from it.

When a teacher seeks to inform a child that he or she could study hard and get a good job and make a decent living by staying on the up and up, but the child remains adamant that he or she could make in a week or a weekend what decent working people make in a month, then it is very hard to get through to these youth, especially when they have relatives that are willing to give them the tools to the illegal trade. It can all seem like an uphill battle.

We have even seen scenarios being played out where young men have grouped together to plant and harvest marijuana, for example and these youngsters perhaps were never too keen on any agricultural science while in school. It seems that a fast dollar and a quick buck are motivating factors, coupled with the fact that these youngsters may know of other individuals who have done the same thing and gotten away with it, though it’s illegal. Thus, it must be recognised that there is at times a clear disconnect between what children are being told a few minutes into the school setting and what they are experiencing as part of the culture in their homes and communities.

So what can we as a society do, apart from what we have already done? Well, we need to send the message that organised crime, in any form or fashion, does not pay in the long run.

We perhaps need to do away with the simple anti-drug messages and send more forceful messages, which emphasise the fact that the potential financial reward to be gained from peddling drugs, in no way outweighs the risk of being arrested, prosecuted and punished. We also need to show the youth that an honest dollar gained, can be enjoyed far better than one that has to be gained through illicit activity, so that in the end, you can truly relax and reap the sweets from hard, honest and legitimate labour.

Barbados Advocate

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