ONCE again I have to come on the side of President Jagdeo.  This time it is for his instructions to dismantle those drug houses.  But it needs to go further, the drug houses need to be destroyed, and to be seized in the name of the government, or if derelict buildings, broken down and costs charged to the owner.
In almost every town or village the drug houses abound, which are destroying the youths, and in the process making them thieves, preying on the old, even raping old women and children.  Women going home late in the evenings, in dark areas are known to be raped, many ashamed to report to the police.  These days, I notice a lot of 80+ years’ old women are being raped by youths, and little girls, babies being raped by youths and older men alike.  This is horrendous and makes us look bad, it must end, the culprits jailed and put away for along time.
This is one area where I believe the Internal Intelligence Unit, dubbed the Guyana CIA could also be useful; they could have a moral police division within the agency.  This is a serious scourge, coupled wanton drunkenness of youth are having serious deleterious results on our economy and people, particularly the vulnerable youths, who have serious peer pressure.  I recall how I was peer pressured to smoke cigarettes, to drink a beer, take a sip of alcohol, and for not doing it I was called a girl, a woman, even woman constable, as the girls uses to gravitate to me for I was always clean and proper smelling, even threatened by the so called big bad young men for not being one of them.  I can go into any school and immediately pick out the bully, and those who are under attack for refusing peer pressure.

Yet more need to be done:
1. No one must be walking on any legal roadway under the influence of alcohol, which makes them a traffic hazard.  We all see how they sway, and fall, they could hurt others and themselves.
2. Drunken people are known to get annoyed, so they fight on roadways.
3. Like driving, drunken people on bicycles or those suspected to be drunk, should  be placed on breathalyzers, and if found that they consumed more than any driver is permitted, they should be charged and placed before the courts.  We all see how dangerous a drunk on a bicycle could be.  Once just off the Canje High bridge, a drunk swayed on his bicycle right into my vehicle, I barely saved him, but I roughed him up, as he could have been dead, I would be in trouble, drivers are always blamed first, and I would have lived with that on my conscience for all times.
4. They become pests to their relatives.
5. They become lazy and non-productive.
6. Fathers are known to rape daughters when drunk, and even grandfathers.  I know of a man, who raped his mother when drunk, and the woman being old was terrified of her son, she brought from her womb, who raped her womb, due to alcohol, more than once.
7. Much murders and chopping happen while people are drunk or get into drunken fights, causing misery to families, loss of producers to the nation, and the tax-payers are left to foot the medical bills.
8.   The alcoholic companies, should contribute 50% of their profits, which they always boast of, to treat alcoholics and rehabilitate them as their product make alcoholics and cost the Government and taxpayers to treat ulcers, psoriasis of the liver, kidney and bladder problems and so much more.  Even causing mental problems, by destroying brain cells, impotency, forcing partners to seek satisfaction elsewhere, and even financial support, as drunks prioritize their money first on alcohol, cigarettes, and their children and wives suffer the consequences, so a serious ethical and moral dilemma results.  Society and the nation suffer.
And I can go on and on lamenting all the negatives; I think my point is made.  As for so many things published by me over the decades, some of which are now being tackled, I just hope this catches the eyes of the power that be and that they would not take too long to act.  As I said before, it is never necessary to give credit to the undersigned.  Just do the right things for our youths, our people and our beloved Guyana.
If the trend of village drug houses continues, along with the wanton drunkenness, we will be a sorry state.  Let us not waste them.  a mind is a terrible thing to waste, to lose.