System being established for early drug warning

BRIDGETOWN (CMC):

The Barbados government says it is moving ahead with plans for the establishment of an early-warning system as it expresses concerns about the challenges presented by new psychoactive substances (NPS).

The Mia Mottley administration said the implementation of such a system would allow for electronic data-gathering and sharing, so that substances could be detected immediately and the relevant agencies determine their composition, effects, and the likely spread or availability on the island.

“Implementing an early-warning system in Barbados will allow for the early detection and monitoring of an NPS; inform approaches to drug education and prevention; and guide policy and legislative frameworks on new drugs,” Home Affairs Minister Edmund Hinkson said during a training workshop on the global Synthetic Drug Monitoring, Analysis, Reporting and Trends Programme for local law-enforcement practitioners and agencies involved in the drug fight.

Hinkson said the National Council on Substance Abuse (NCSA) had made strides in implementing the early-warning system, including the hosting of meetings of representatives of demand and supply control sectors, and establishing a technical oversight committee to manage the work of the early-warning system.

“These training sessions can only add yet another layer of skill development for members from various stakeholder groups on identification of synthetics drugs/precursors and security measures,” he said.

NCSA manager Betty Hunte said the workshop, which ended yesterday, would provide an excellent opportunity to improve on the efforts already made.

“[At present], we cannot really identify trends, but this mechanism called the early-warning system, that is being set up, will help us to do that going forward,” she said, stressing that it was important to get ahead of the challenges from now.”

The workshop was hosted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the Canadian High Commission and the NCSA.