Authorities are investigating a troubling case involving the suspected sale of psychoactive substances to primary school children, marking a worrying escalation in drug-related incidents in the country, Barbados TODAY can reveal exclusively.
The state drug-fighting agency was recently tipped off about a “suspicious” incident involving a primary school child being traded illicit drugs outside the school gate.
“This is the first time there is a suspected case around an adult selling some kind of substance around a primary school; this is the first time. This is obviously a concern,” Deputy Manager of the National Council on Substance Abuse (NCSA) Troy Wickham said in an interview.
The NCSA was able to get a sample of the substance, he said. Forensic tests are currently being conducted and results should be back soon.
“It was reported to us late last week that there are some suspicious activities happening around one of the nation’s primary schools as it relates to a substance being sold in the environs of the school,” he said following the release of the Barbados Drug Information Network (BARDIN) 2023 report.
“We were able to get our hands on the item and I took it to the government forensic science centre for testing and we are currently awaiting the results, the analyses.”
Wickham confirmed that the suspected incident took place at a primary school in the south of the island.
He would not go into greater detail until empirical evidence was presented but he confirmed that enough information was available to turn the investigation over to the police if the results came back positive for a dangerous illicit drug.
He said: “I spoke to the senior forensic centre officer earlier today (Wednesday) and the testing will be done shortly so that we will be able to discover whether or not there is a substance on the item so that we can take the appropriate action. The officer did not give a definite date, but they indicated that the lab is currently working on the particular item for analysis.”
The NCSA official added: “As a person involved in the demand reduction field, the earlier a person is introduced to any substance it can lead to problematic use in their adulthood and for us at the NCSA, this is a serious problem. If it is so (positive) we will take appropriate action to wrestle this problem to the ground because we don’t want our young people exposed to any substance; their brains are still developing.”
Wickham added that the NCSA ran several substance abuse programmes at public and private schools across the island which provided the opportunity for members of such organisations as the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides to gain a badge of accomplishment after being trained.
According to the BARDIN 2023 report, of the 93 students admitted to the Edna Nicholls Centre, a facility for students with behavioural problems, one-third of them tested positive for marijuana use. The majority of the students who tested positive were males ages 13 to 15.
The report also revealed that most of those who presented themselves for treatment for illicit drugs were males under the age of 20.
sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb
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