Anti-Drug plan to cost $44 Million
Just about everyone in Belize knows someone who abuses drugs. He or she may be a friend, a co-worker or a member of our own family. Drugs affect all sectors of the society, not just the poor. But while efforts in the past have concentrated on prevention programs in the schools and marijuana plantation eradication and police and BDF drug busts, its clearly a time for a different approach. The National Drug Abuse Control Council says they think they have some of the solutions, but they won’t come cheap. Both NDACC and the Minister of National Security say we have to find the money somewhere, because drugs have cost Belizean society too much already.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
Fifteen months after Jorge Espat, Minister of national security gave the National Drug Abuse Control Council the mandate to produce the country’s first anti drug strategy plan, the document has been completed. The plan of action targets six crisis areas that NDACC believes will comprehensively address the monumental drug problems facing Belizean Society.
Ornel Brooks, NDACC’s Executive Director
“It deals with schools prevention and education, it deals with public education, treatment and rehabilitation, law enforcement, legal reform and community empowerment and under each of those critical areas, we seek to create the type of working atmosphere that will have strong collaboration with the public at large as well as the international communities. It is that we are seeking to address the two major areas where drug is concerned as it affects the nation and the world. One is demand reduction and the other supply reduction, so this strategy is all embracing and we believe that through its implementation we will be able to constructively combat the scourge and epidemic of drugs.”
The Plan of Action focuses more on drug treatment and prevention than law enforcement.
Jorge Espat , Minister of National Security
“I think in the past efforts have been placed on law enforcement, on the military approach if you will and I think the record is across the world that approach has not been successful. I think the best drug policy is prevention and obviously that is one that is prominently featured in the strategy to prevent drugs.”
The five-year plan is not only ambitious, it is expensive. NDACC estimates it will cost close to forty-four million dollars to implement the programme. Espat says he will be asking government assist with the cost and approaching international donor agencies.
Only five copies of the plan were available today, NDACC says more will be printed soon.
