Reduction of drug usage in schools recorded – Police

Six months ago the alarming problem of a drug trade and usage in schools was of major concern to parents, teachers, and other stakeholders and fears were this problem would become rampant.
However, there has been a reduction in reports of drug usage in schools, which means that actions taken to curb this issue are bearing fruit.
That is according to Head of the Police Narcotics Branch, Senior Superintendent Kurleigh Simon, who on Sunday told Guyana Times that there has been a reduction in reports that the agency has received.
The Senior Superintendent stated that the most recent case that was brought to the attention of the Police Narcotics Branch in relation to schools and drug usage was at President’s College.
“Nothing was found there though. The teachers had just suspected that there was a drug usage issue and had lodged a complaint to the Ministry of Education. The Ministry contacted us and we went there,” he stated.
According to the Senior Superintendent, as part of the ongoing exercise to address drug-related matters in schools and raise awareness of both staff and students, the Ministry, along with the Police Narcotics Branch and the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU), recently met with a number of Head Teachers from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) for further discussions.
Presently, there are a number of Police ranks undergoing training in the area of drug awareness in order to monitor various schools at least once a month.
Simon had previously stated that through such a move the Guyana Police Force (GPF) hoped to make a positive impact in curbing the issue of drugs being distributed in schools.
“As part of our drug demand reduction strategy, 25 ranks across the GPF are on training right now dealing with the drug awareness reduction education programme. Those ranks will be going back to respective divisions and be responsible for going to schools across the regions to spread the “don’t get involved” slogan. This is to minimise the use of young people, students getting involved in drug use,” he explained.
In September last, CANU made public that the use and sale of the drug ecstasy was discovered in five schools. Known as a recreational drug, ecstasy has harmful side effects, including addiction, and can cause altered sensations.
Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, speaking on the issue, was quoted as saying law enforcement agencies were “losing the battle” now that drugs have ended up in schools.