Former Member of Parliament Stephen Lashley believes there is a correlation between what he called the wanton use of marijuana and alcohol, and the increase in criminal activity.
And he is particularly concerned about drug use among young people, their perception on the use of marijuana, and the growing incidence of violence in schools.
Lashley, an attorneyat-law and former minister of culture and youth under the Democratic Labour Party’s last administration, shared his views and concerns during the DLP’s Astor Watts Lunchtime Lecture last week at its George Street, St Michael, headquarters where he spoke on the topic Crime and Our Society.
Public education
“We passed legislation to establish a medicinal cannabis industry but I do believe that we have not ticked all the boxes in relation to what that means,” he said.
“I believe also that the public education that ought to have accompanied the enactment of that legislation is extremely weak, in that somewhere, somehow, the notion that the establishment of a medicinal cannabis industry is to now create some idea that people can do what they like in smoking marijuana, has taken hold in Barbados.”
Lashley noted that many young people who were being counselled for substance abuse and mental issues “were of the view that when that legislation was passed, that it created a legitimisation of the casual use of marijuana”.
He added: “And I need to believe, now that we are talking about solutions in dealing with crime, that that is perhaps one of the first areas of clarification that is needed from the Government in Barbados.
“That legislation needs to be explained, and it needs to be categorically indicated that, as far as I’m aware, the casual use of marijuana, has not been legalised in Barbados. I have not been told that.”
Lashley said there was also a connection between drug use, the level of crime and the incidence of violence in the schools.
He called for great consequences for students who attack teachers and other students.
“Unless we are going to unravel this issue and certainly tackle it to the ground, we are going to continue to see the rise in violence in our schools and it will overflow into our society in relation to the incidence of crime,” he said.
Real issues
“So my view is quite clear:
that we cannot continue to have a love affair with educational transformation without dealing with some of the real issues that are happening in our schools that teachers are encountering on a daily basis as we relate to unruly behaviour. And I dare say that we need to stop fooling ourselves about this issue and what is required to deal with it.”
Regarding the use of firearms and the recent upsurge in gun-related killings, the attorney said these issues had not been sufficiently addressed.
He said the recent figures, which had so far surpassed last year’s, will be an even greater cause for concern.
“If those figures bear out, certainly you will surpass the incidence of those serious crimes by the end of the year,” he said.
Referencing research from the Barbados Crime Observatory, Lashley noted that in 2017, the homicide rate was 10.71 per 100 000, with gun violence heavily concentrated in the southern areas.
“And so far the stats show that St Michael is the area of concern. Fifty-three per cent of all the firearmrelated killings occurred in the St Michael area.”
He noted that these areas were densely populated.
“So it tells me that a specific approach is needed to evolve to tackle crime in these areas . . . . I am not feeling that a sufficiently serious approach is being taken to dealing with crime in some of these areas, and if the country’s really convinced that there’s a serious approach, then we have to hear what that serious approach is,” Lashley said.
“If the researchers have told us that, given the incidence of, particularly gunrelated murders, that this year will probably be the bloodiest if we don’t have intervention, then there must be a concerted effort to intervene and to deal with the issue, but there must be a concerted plan as well.” ( MB)
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