He would go to the bar and buy drinks for everyone. If the tab came up to $60, he would toss the bartender a $100 bill and insist he keep the change. And if the bartender hesitated for the slightest moment, he would scream, “Keep the *#@% change before I come behind there and slap you!!!”
Why is Dominica on the verge of becoming the stabbing capital of the Caribbean? For the most part, it is just the flip side of the glory days of the drug dealer described above. L’argan con titiwi; money burning a hole in their hands. They seem to have it all: posh houses, fast cars and even faster women. Every drug user, regardless of income gets a point where they need to fund their habit. And so they end up trafficking or using innocent ‘mules’ as allegedly was the case with the young Dominican model recently caught smuggling drugs into the airport in England.
Even the most well off, like Michael Jackson, find that their earnings cannot keep up with their lifestyle, especially after making a series of the stupid, drug-crazed financial decisions. The King of Pop was about my age, yet recent news reports revealed that his anatomy became so hardened from repeated drug use that the needle almost broke when Grenadian Dr. Murray, tried to give him an injection.
During the recent push to decriminalize homosexuality in Dominica, the argument was made that we should consider legalizing marijuana first. The major point was that marijuana causes way less deaths than alcohol (true). It also has pain control /anti nausea medicinal properties (true). Furthermore it is used for spiritual purposes (sacred herb) in the Rastafarian movement (true). One does not get truly addicted to marijuana compared to cocaine, (true). Legalizing marijuana would remove the criminal incentive and then every thing would be ire.
Well, not so fast…
For all the reasons listed above, I am really sympathetic to consideration of legalizing marijuana. But the sad fact is that marijuana is a ‘gateway drug.’ That means a person who gets high on marijuana begins to wonder, well, if that makes me feel so good, imagine what cocaine will do for me! As persuasive as these arguments are, they come against the powerful imperatives of curbing drug abuse and law enforcement / national security concerns. The states where marijuana has been legalized yield a fresh new crop of problems. People on marijuana tend to be unmotivated and drop out of that critical mass of innovative workers doing things necessary to move their communities forward.
Someone who does not smoke is less likely to try marijuana. In the same way, someone who does not do marijuana is less like to use cocaine. Anyone dabbling in any addictive drug once is likely to end up gatay for good. They enjoy the pleasures of fake happiness for a season and reap a whirlwind of medical consequences: hepatitis, HIV, emphysema, dysfunctional sperm, psychosis and bacterial endocarditis to name a few. From that moment on, life expectancy is already reduced by half.
There are certain things we just don’t want to rank high in. International studies on percentage of population behind bars say different things, but none place Dominica in the lowest group. To begin with, all global rankings place America above and beyond at #1 in this very bad statistic. Then follows Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, Belize, Bermuda, Suriname and Dominica.
With the United States, the reasons are quite obvious. This is clearly related to the profit motive of publicly traded, private corporations that run many of American prisons. It is well established that despite the current president, the US continues to use mass incarceration as a tool to suppress minority populations such as Africans American and Hispanics. As in Mexico, the US criminal justice system has no sustained, genuine interest in rehabilitating drug addicts, but rather simply recycles them. Since the United States is by far the biggest drug-consuming nation in the world, other countries find it that much more difficult to exorcise the demon of drugs unless America first gets its act together.
Sure, alcoholism often results in unwanted pregnancies, domestic violence and traffic accidents. But one thing the typical alcoholic does not do is to deal, rob and kill for the money involved with drugs. What the addict fears most is going into withdrawal. When going through ‘cold turkey,’ they feel like they are literally about to die (although they seldom do). That fear drives them to do whatever it takes – within a 24 hour period – to get that fix. They would literally sell their own babies or mothers if it came to that. Regardless of how good a family they may have been raised in, cheating, lying and denial come naturally for an addict. Drug dealers even sprayed a vehicle with the Government Information Service logo in an attempt to cover up their dirty deeds.
Regardless what the US, Mexico, Colombia and others do, Dominica must decide to put a stop to this escalating deadly violence. Normal citizens like you and I may not be the first in the line of fire, but crime sullies our national reputation, drives away visitors and punishes our economy. The majority must not suffer for the cravings of a few. The hard-working officers in the Commonwealth of Dominica Police Force have no doubt that much of this crime wave is fueled by drugs. They have made outstanding arrests and seizures in recent months. Jacinta Bannis and her dedicated team at the National Drug Abuse Prevention Unit work hard to sensitize our youth to the dangers of drugs, especially in our schools. We must absolutely do more in terms of drug treatment and highlight those who have succeeded in turning their lives around. At the end of the day, whatever we do, now is definitely not a time to legalize marijuana.
Dr. Sam Christian is a general surgeon and general practitioner. He is author of the book ‘Mannafast Miracle’ and serves as Medical Advisor to the Dominica Cancer Society.
gateway drug? utter rubbish! in that case alcohol is the gateway drug to everything then cause it is usually the first drug we all experience
Doc…
I also know of quite a few prescription medications that are gateway drugs yet they are still widely used and prescribed…
care to comment on that?
The most dangerous thing about marijuana is prohibition!
If marijuana was decriminalized, the only thing it would cost the inhabitants of this country, is a bit of rain, a bit of sun and a square yard of land.. All of which are freely available in the nature isle.
Gateway drug rubbish.. If marijuana was legal, cocaine and crack dealers would be outcast.. Even by marijuana supporters and users.
Your English is exceptionally great; your argument is grossly flawed. Put that in your pipe and smoke it!
Medicinal weed:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BP-RHZqTEVs
This is my response to this interesting article:
“Drug addiction in Dominica is a clear and present danger. I am not sure that precise number of cases can be documented since it presents what I call an iceberg-like circumstance where one sees the tip of the iceberg in the “paros” that roam the streets but the bulk is hidden in the in the highways and byways of civil and other sectors.
Drug use and abuse contribute to arguably eighty-five percent (85%) of every criminal/negative act on the island. From the white collar executive who misappropriates the company’s/government’s resources (i.e phone, vehicle, messenger, time etc) to obtain/sell illicit and harmful drugs, to the lowly “paro” who snatches the tourist’s purse to feed his habit, the end result is the same: a deterioration of all positive values that ends in the physical and spiritual death of individuals and the destruction of states.
Ill-clad, hungry, homeless and broken individuals roam the streets of Roseau and I dare say conservatively that ninety-nine point nine percent (99.9%) are substance abusers who fall in the “paro” category. Many of them are highly intelligent and talented persons whose addiction has relegated them to washing cars, running errands, begging and stealing to generate money to get high.
Family members for the most part give up in their attempts to help the afflicted one. And little wonder; totally out of their depth, they are up against a feverish brain fired by a heinous craving. The toll on them is great. Addiction is not reduced by advice, moralizing, scare tactics, promises and the like. In fact, the wily addict uses all these to work the person trying to help into the position of an enabler…one who inadvertently provides the means to feed his habit.
In many cases, parents are willing to spend what it takes to rid their offspring of the addiction affliction. But in as many cases money is not the issue. It is the strength of the client’s desire to recover coupled with the understanding, compassion, patience, technical expertise and fear of the Lord of the care-giver.
For all that, there is no facility to rehabilitate those broken lives. The only attempt at addressing that situation is a programme named WISDOM TO KNOW which operates out of the Scout Headquarters on High Street in Roseau. While the Government run National Drug Abuse Prevention Unit (NDAPU) is in the business of prevention, WISDOM TO KNOW actively seeks out drug addicts and alcoholics, puts them through a ten month rehabilitation programme (three months of detoxification, three months of Alcoholics Anonymous step-work, three months of Relapse Prevention techniques and one month Social and Vocational Skills Training and Job-placement) with a view to reintegrating them into the wider community as positive contributors.
WISDOM TO KNOW also targets the sixty-two (62) Primary Schools on the island engaging them in substance abuse prevention activities and talks with a view to actualizing the WISDOM TO KNOW vision statement “To provide Dominica with a drug free generation by the year 2035.”
Sam u can say what u want is skerrit we voting
we doe care if he is a selfish, wreckless, ignorant dictator with no compassion for those who not kissing his backside…………..is skerrit we voting….
and where in the article did you see him telling you not to vote skerrit. Some of You dominican are really fools.
Let’s be factual rather than be opinionated. What are the statistics re those who smoke marijuana & move to harder drugs. Guess such facts will prove the doctor wrong. Addiction is a disease and those who are predisposed will be addicts regardless of whether they use marijuana, alcohol or tobacco.
Sadly the doctor can’t separate the facts from his beliefs & opinions. The health issues are not necessarily the issues of crime.
I want to throw up with the usage of “gateway” drugs. It doesn’t make you want to try cocaine, unless you’re an idiot. When you’re an idiot, you’re going to try cocaine anyway, so stop trying to blame the connection on Marijuana.
Usage of drugs in Amsterdam have calmed down since decriminalization. If marijuana is kept illegal, it’ll fuel the black market and keep the thugs killing each other.
When you’re an idiot, you’re going to do marijuana , It does make you want to try cocaine,so the connection is Marijuana.
So true Doc. I totally agree with you.
Doc, you made some good points, but you have not made the case for not legalizing Marijuana and, as a matter of fact, now is the time for Dominica to consider legalizing or decriminalizing Marijuana. Marijuana is the least of DA’s drug issues in light of the fact that DA is quickly becoming one of the major gateway ports for hard drugs in transit to France(via Gwada), England, USA and Canada. That fact has created a flood of cocaine and crack, readily available on the island. That we cannot deny. Big problem!
This is a result of the US injecting their military to interdict Colombian and Venezuelan traffickers’ boats & small planes from it’s coasts. St.Lucia went way before DA, as a UN study showed Lucia had once way back in the 90’s had one of the highest per-capita rates of men on death row; comparing to some African and South American rogue states and credited to hard drugs trafficking, complete with king pins and all.
labeling Marijuana as a gateway drug is an old tactics used in the US for racial and other reasons such as reefer madness, and people leaping from buildings etc. just to discredit the mostly people of color who used it; (please Google reefer madness or check Wikipedia in your research) and also a little known fact, to benefit the Dupont company in its quest to kill the hemp industry that made ropes and fabrics that ate into Dupont’s profits. They were very successful getting other countries to follow suit. All smoke and mirrors.
Legalizing or decriminalizing Marijuana in Dominnica is the right thing to do at this time, to keep our youth from Stock Farm for just a little bit of weed and, as you pointed out, for medical/midicinal/spiritual reasons. It’s not as bad as they make it out to be. Matter of fact, people who used it and stopped never suffer withdrawals as you stated for hard durgs; It shuld’nt be abused, as with alcohol we are safe to have a drink and not abuse, any thing abused can be dangerous.
Much Respect to Dr. Christian; great piece.
I strongly oppose addiction of any kind. Be it addiction to the heavier drugs like crack cocaine and heroin, addiction to alcohol or addiction the “less potent drugs” like marijuana and cigarettes. I must also note that I believe addiction can be driven by personality and one’s environment. As a student at DGS in the late 70’s, my friends and I were influenced by the Rastafarian brothers and brought ganja to school. At age 14, I tried it twice and decided that it did nothing for me. I did the same with a couple of my father’s cigarettes and his white horse whiskey. I consider myself lucky, as I found no personal satisfaction with drugs or alcohol. Besides, I have to be in control of my actions and anything that interferes with that will not willingly enter this body.
With all that been said, I must also state that I am opposed to the methods that are currently employed to curtail the uses of addictive substances. In fact, I support the legalization of all drugs that are currently available to the public, to include alcohol, cocaine, heroin and marijuana. I believe that we will find ways to get what we want, be it legal or illegal drugs. I strongly believe that the “war on drugs” was a bad idea that should have been abandoned many years ago because of the following reasons:
1. Government should make an effort to control anything that can be harmful to a population. Controlling in this case can take the form of licensing as is the case with firearms, regulating consumption with price controls as is the case with taxes on cigarettes, or it can be in the form of controlling the availability of the item in question, as with prescription medication.
2. With the war on drugs, we have employed the criminalization method in our attempts to correct this and that has not worked. Instead, we have spent countless amounts of financial resources that could have been spent otherwise, we have created millions of criminals out of potential entrepreneurs, we have pushed the criminal justice system to include prisons to the brink and more importantly, governments are missing out on trillions of dollars in revenue that sits in the hands of drug lords and their underlings.
Despite our current best efforts, our neighborhoods are flooded with illegal drugs. With illegal drugs come illegal firearms and increases in drug related violence. I think our focus should be shifted away from the war on drugs and placed in the following three areas; 1. Accurately and effectively generating economic revenue from the drugs that are currently considered illegal; 2. Finding ways to place more resources in preventing addiction; and 3. Making treatment for addiction more economical and readily available.
We cannot underestimate the power of the human spirit. It is better to find ways to include those that we consider outcast than to find ways to create additional outcasts.
don’t cry down marijuana cry down your brain for not having it.leave marijuana alone and go get those big time fellas in government and elsewhere that have it on the streets.
also you say Sure, alcoholism often results in unwanted pregnancies, domestic violence and traffic accidents. But one thing the typical alcoholic does not do is to deal, rob and kill for the money involved with drugs,but it seems you forgot people kill people under the influence of alcohol and accidents are way worst than a drug deal.
mister smarty brain still needs to get most of his facts straight.take any marijuana seed let it fall in fertile soil and we have a natural tree.cut it let it set and smoke nothing else.rum,cocaine,energy drinks all have to go through a process before use.
I expected no less from a medical doctor on the marijuana issue.U are part of the drug problem sir.U dispense poison just like the drug dealers.In actuality u’re just a legal drug dealer with advantages of making ur patients remain ill so drug companies can make their millions.Maybe i should ask u have u ever educated ur patients on the benifits of herbal medication?If not u are not the one to be touching on that subject sir.Marijuana grows wild,there has never been a death related to the smoking of pot or violent crime while high on weed.What needs to be done is our port security and coast guard need to tighten the noose and make sure nothing (contraband)leaves the island.Homosexuality on the other hand is a serial killer (U as doctor should know the stats on homo deaths .Alcohol was illegal back in the day people and policemen gave up their lives but it still was decriminalized.Nowadays it is sold to and consumed kids as young as ten in dominica and everyone turns a blind eye.Kidney,liver damage,hypertension,traffic and residential accidents and deaths all related to alcohol.Hmmmmm with a doctorate degree u do the maths doc.
Sorry,but your arguments against the legalisation of Marijuana is the most flawed piece of nonsense I’ve ever read. I guess you think because you carry Dr. infront of your name makes you an authority on the subject.
There is no study in the world that conclusively proves that marijuana is a gateway drug. The reason we have such a problem with drug dealers is simply because of prohibition.
Great article Doc!
Well spoken. I hope Dominicans are listening.
I agree that mariguana is very bad for the people,but it doesn’t appear to be bad for the economy. Why don’t you think, the present labor Administration is cold about the distribution of the drug. We have heard alot about Gays, since your return to Dominica,Doc,have you ever heard a Minister of Government speaking about the drug. Thanks to you and others, the young people of Dominica are made aware of the dangers of the drug.
I always enjoy reading your pieces … simple and sensible. Thank you.
This is a great Piece of written literature.
‘But one thing an alcoholic does not do is to deal, rob and kill for the money ‘. You ever heard about Prohibition?? WEll Smartypants, this is so because alcohol is legal, taxed and regulated and can be purchased relatively inexpensively at endless purveyors. Make ganja (and all other drugs for that matter) legal, tax and regulate them, and you remove the massive profit motive which leads to the massive criminal activities associated therewith.
Thank you good Doctor for your input. You desrcribe Marijuana as a gateway drug, however the fact is there is NO SCIENTIFIC BASIS on that. There are millions of Marijuana smokers around the world who has NEVER attempted or thought of smoking or injecting or even ingesting another drug. Go to Jamaica good Doctor and see how many hardcore marijuana smokers (people who has been smoking for decades) have evolved into hardcaore drug users. Marijuana is NOT a drug!!!! Marijuana is a PLANT! Plain and simple! The reason for criminalizing marijuana has nothing to do with danger or harmfulness but is strictly monetary as it is too prevalent to be easily taxed. Some governments decided if they cannot tax it and make money then make it illegal. What you don’t know is that marijuana was perfectly legal all over the world until the early twentieth century, it was used for medicinal purposes, as a herb and a spice.
My Good Doctor, no offense to you, but your facts on Marijuana are skewed and biased based on what you’ve read in books or heard in lectures, seen on tell-lie-vision etc. You, I am almost certain of, has never used marijuana for your own purposes whether as a tea, a spice, a herb or just for relaxation. As a long-time marijuana user I can assure you that ALL your statements above with regards to the effects of marijuna are unscientific and a quite frankly a bunch of CRAP!!!!
Comparing marijuana to alcohol is a bit disingenious! Why don’t you compare a plant to a plant and compare marijuana to it’s cousin TOBACCO!!!! How many people die EVERY DAY by the thousands due to tobacco related illnesses such as cancer, emphysyma, lung disease. etc.? Yet, tobacco is perfectly legal and you as a good doctor fail to even mention it in your article! Marijuana a plant that has been medically proven to have a far less harmful efffect on the human body is a scourge however in your eyes!
Sir, the war on drugs has failed!!! It is the sole reason for the high rate of incarcerated individuals the world around. The fact is the very top level drug traffickers are almost NEVER apprehended while the little poor black or hispanic boy trying to make ends meet ends up in jail or prison for years for the possession or sale of a very small quantity of drugs. Thus the drug trade keeps rolling forward while prisons fill up with the poor dealers at the lowest level.
Oh lord my good Doctor, you even stated that drug USERS find ways to support their habits by smuggling drugs throough “mules” etc. Then you compare that to alcoholics saying that all alcoholics fear is withdrawal and that they do not commit crimes to support their habits! My good doctor this is laughable. Hardcore drug users, first of all, (those on cocaine and heroin etc.) are hardly in the position to be high-level drug smugglers, they are rather like zombies or flat out broke! Alcoholics cause so much damage, through violence, vehicular accidents, domestic abuse and vagrancy (bums)! Yet, your argument was directed towards the legalization of marijuana and that in no way applied to the debate. Marijuana smugglers do not smuggle to support a habit Doctor Sir! They do it because it is PROFITABLE!!! They know that the person who is most likely to go to jail is the little fella on the corner with a bag of weed. Thus the criminalizing of marijuana fuels the profitability! If it was legal and readily available to responsible users over the age of eighteen, the marijuana smuggler would be bringing in hundreds of pounds of weed from St. Vincent for nought!!! NO ONE IS GOING TO PAY HIS PRICES FOR WHAT THEY COULD WALK INTO THE STORE AND BUY AT ANYTIME!!!
And that easily…”POOF” down goes the drug trade! Well, the illegal marijuana trade at least. Cocaine and heroin is another matter and NOT the issue here. Marijuana is NOT a gateway drug, it is far less harmless than tobacco, it has very useful medicinal purposes and its availability reduces it’s value as an illegal cash crop!
LEGALIZE MARIJUANA NOW and watch how many tourists will come flocking on our shores!!!! Why go to AMSTERDAM when we can have a joint and walk the WAITIKUBULI trail in the beautiful nature isle of DOMINICA! Let us be a trendsetter and be the first Caribbean country to decriminalize and legalize marijuana! It will make our island stand out and bring us the much-needed popularity and advertisement that our tourist industry needs to boost our failing economy! Thank You SIR! I yield back to the good DOCTOR!!!
You said it so well Dr.2Smart…just giving you more support in your comment!
The gateway argument is such nonsense…I have used marijuana casually for over 20 years, I never drink alcohol, never used any tobacco, and I would never take hard drugs…damn I don’t even take paracetamol!
One other thing I find when people talk about marijuana users becoming lazy…I always find that weed makes people more of what they naturally are…if they are creative, their creativity is enhance, if they are already lazy they become more so! I know people who smoke weed before work and have their most productive hours whilst they are high and focused! So alongside legalizing weed we need to have a much greater variety of cultural, natural and creative programs for people to get high from these too and that can only lead to a more peaceful and enlightened nation.
Oh yeah the tourist scenario sweet…wish we had a govt who could see that progression!
I WAS goin to comment but……………u said all need be said
Profound and i agree with you completely