Caribbean Drugs From Criminalization to Harm Reduction

by Klein, Axel; Day, Marcus; Harriott, Anthony

• ISBN13: 9781842774984
• ISBN10: 1842774980
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-11-13
• Publisher: Zed Books Ltd.

Summary

In the Caribbean islands, ganja, crack cocaine and the policy responses to them have triggered a social disaster. The islands, under US pressure, have adopted a region-wide policy of criminalization. Specialized drug courts have been created and traditional cultural practices around ganja consumption have been criminalized with serious human and social consequences. This is the first book to examine the experiences of Caribbean countries since they adopted this coordinated approach to the drugs problem. It throws fascinating light on the difficulties facing drug abuse and rehabilitation centers, and explores "Harm Reduction", a fundamentally alternative approach to the drugs problem. There are valuable practical and policy lessons to be learned for other countries, including those with large Caribbean populations such as the US and UK.

Author Biography

Axel Klein is head of research at DrugScope, an information and advice-giving charity with which the book is associated. He is a fellow at St. Anthony's College, Oxford, and the coeditor of Fragile Peace (Zed Books, 2002).

Marcus Day is coordinator of the Caribbean Harm Reduction Coalition, Saint Lucia.

Anthony Harriott is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Government, University of the West Indies, Mona Campus.

Table of Contents

List of Tables and Figures	vii
Abbreviations	viii
Acknowledgements	x
About Drugscope	xi
Preface	x
Notes on Contributors	xii
PART ONE Background and Context	1	(64)
Introduction
Axel Klein, Marcus Day, Anthony Harriott	3	(6)
1 The Search for a New Drug Policy Framework: From the Barbados Plan of Action to the Ganja Commission
Axel Klein	9	(56)
PART TWO Policy Responses: Adapting the Legal Framework to Meet the Needs of the Region	65	(80)
2 Criminalizing Cultural Practice: The Case of Ganja in Jamaica
Barry Chevannes	67	(15)
3 Drug Courts in Jamaica: Means to an End or End in Itself?
Anthony Harriott and Marlyn Jones	82	(19)
4 Drugs and the Prison System: Impact of Legislative Changes on the Prison Crises in the Commonwealth Caribbean Region
Wendy Singh	101	(19)
5 Rethinking Privatisation, the State and Illegal Drugs in the Commonwealth Caribbean
Philip Nan ton	120	(25)
PART THREE Interventions on the Ground: Putting Demand Reduction into Practice 'I HAVE PLENTY OF NOTHING AND NOTHING IS PLENTY FOR ME'	145	(42)
6 Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation in Jamaica and the Caribbean
Howard Gough	147	(8)
7 What's the Hook? Diary of a Drop-in Centre or Rehabilitation Before Abstinence
Marcus Day	155	(17)
8 Cayman Drug Council: Practising Harm Reduction in a Zero-Tolerance Society
Catherine Chestnut	172	(6)
9 Ethical Dilemmas in Drug Research: Pitfalls of Gathering Sensitive Information in the Caribbean Context
Jennifer Hillebrand	178	(9)
PART FOUR Responses to Opportunity: Economics of Drugs	187	(58)
10 Illicit Drug Markets in the Caribbean: Analysis of Information on Drug Flows Through the Region
Michael Platzer with Flavio Mirella and Carlos Resa Nestares	189	(35)
11 The Ganja Industry and Alternative Development in St Vincent and the Grenadines
Axel Klein	224	(21)
Index	245