Drug Demand Reduction Unit working ‘tirelessly’
From left are: Project Director Dr. Travis Freeman; Drug Prevention Officer Avril Brand; and National Drug Treatment Master Trainer Wayne Hunte
From left are: Project Director Dr. Travis Freeman; Drug Prevention Officer Avril Brand; and National Drug Treatment Master Trainer Wayne Hunte

–to address increasing use of synthetic drugs

AS the world today (July 26) observes International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, local authorities are paying increased attention to emerging and trending drugs that people are opting for over the traditional ones like alcohol, tobacco and marijuana, to name a few. Most troubling to them, though, are the mental health effects of indulging in substance abuse.

The Ministry of Health’s Drug Demand Reduction Unit, located on Quamina Street, in Georgetown, is using the opportunity on ‘World Drug Day’, under the theme, “Addressing Drug Challenges in Health and Humanitarian Crisis”, to promote awareness of the dire situation that exists locally, and to help current sufferers and those who would have recovered but need help maintaining their stance.

The Unit wants to target at least 20 schools per year

In 1987, the United Nations General Assembly made an ambitious and bold step to designate June 26 as the day when the world turns attention towards raising awareness of the global drug problem.
National Drug Treatment Master Trainer Mr. Wayne Hunte believes that drug use disorder is a resulting condition which is a progressive brain disease with biological, psychological and social consequences. “Treatment of this disorder must, therefore, take a multi-dimensional approach requiring a trained and competent workforce,” he said in a comment to Pepperpot Magazine.

The Unit that Hunte is a part of is led by Project Director Dr. Travis Freeman, with Ms. Avril Brand as Drug Prevention Officer. The trio develops programmes, policies, and services to reduce the incidences or the prevalence of people using drugs.

“This Unit tries to reduce the demand for psychoactive substances, which are any substances or drugs used to change one’s perception, behaviour, or attitude. These drugs would include tobacco, alcohol, cocaine, marijuana, along with synthetic drugs that are trending now such as Methamphetamine, ecstasy, etc.” Dr. Freeman told this publication in an interview recently.

An educational session being conducted by National Drug Treatment Master Trainer Wayne Hunte

Over the years, the Unit has been working primarily in prevention and has created a lot of material geared towards drug education, even dating back to the years you’d see the slogan “Say no to Drugs” on exercise books. Even as it continues with mass media campaigns, the Unit is now coupling the prevention aspect of its work with advancing its treatment and rehabilitation programme.

This may very well result in the training of two internationally certified batches of drug treatment specialists before the end of the year. “This will build the workforce that deals with persons affected with substance use disorder. We’re supporting both the adult and juvenile drug courts which are promoting alternatives to sentencing, and we intend to strengthen these institutions working with us,” Dr. Freeman shared.

With roughly 120 persons receiving rehabilitative services annually, following drug use, he said the Unit has been working tirelessly to address the increasing use of synthetic drugs over the traditional ones, and also the fact that they are being used among adolescents and the young adult population.

Drug Demand Reduction Unit Project Director Dr. Travis Freeman

“Seldom would you find a person begins to use drugs at age 40; it takes place in their teens and pre-teen years, so we feel that if we were to address those two target populations and prevent them from even starting to use, we will be able to lower the incidence of people misusing the substances,” Dr. Freeman offered.

MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES
Dr. Freeman noted that substance misuse can lead to substance use disorder or mental health issues. “Studies would have shown that seven out of 10 persons, once you would have misused a substance in your younger years, you would develop a mental health issue as an adult. And these issues can include depression, anxiety, paranoia, and psychosis, etc.”

The intention, he said, is for these substances not to become social norms, as has already happened in the case of alcohol. “Every social event or activity there is alcohol being served; it could even be a christening or a baby’s birthday and there would be alcohol served for the adults.”

The Unit wants to target at least 20 schools a year, both in the private and public system, in its bid to help youngsters decide against the path of substance use.

It works along closely with key stakeholders like the Customs Anti- Narcotic Unit (CANU) under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, and Non-Governmental Organisations like Salvation Army, Phoenix Recovery Project and Life Reform. Their international partners include UNICEF, PAHO/WHO, and CICAD/OAS.

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