Home Affairs Minister Wilfred Abrahams has announced that a new national billboard campaign is set to launch featuring “provocative” posters designed to shock the public into action against drug abuse.
The campaign, starting this week, comes as the minister warns of the growing threat of synthetic drugs and high-tech trafficking methods in Barbados.
Speaking at an Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) conference on Tuesday, Abrahams acknowledged that the posters, created by the National Council on Substance Abuse, may cause some controversy.
He said that “some persons probably will object to the posters”, but insisted that the goal was to get people to notice them.
“The messaging had to be sharp, it had to be pointed, and it had to shock. Because anything less than that fails to get the message across,” he said. “Some persons probably will object to the posters… I say if you get to that point, that means you’ve noticed them and we’ve done our job.”
Abrahams cautioned that Barbados is “not immune” to the global surge in drug availability and that traffickers are using sophisticated methods, such as remotely operated “drug submarines,” to evade detection.
He also highlighted the Caribbean’s role as a critical transit route and warned against the region turning to the drug trade “as an economic buffer”.
The minister expressed deep concern about the rise of new psychoactive substances, which he says are already present in Barbados.
“Illicit drug use is a serious concern since it poses significant health challenges,” he said, adding that the country has “way more access to drugs and alcohol, and way less of a community and family support to help persons who actually need help and intervention”.
To combat this, Abrahams underscored the need for early drug prevention messaging in youth-friendly formats.
“The earlier we start the messaging, the more effective the message. We have to reach them young, and we have to reach them in ways that they can understand,” he said.
He cited a locally produced undercover documentary on drug addiction, filmed in Nelson Street, as a powerful tool that has already influenced policy. The minister noted that the documentary “humanised the crisis” and revealed a stark truth: every person interviewed became addicted on their first use. “The children need to understand it only takes one,” he said.
Abrahams called for a “whole of society approach” to tackle both addiction and drug-related crime, urging policymakers to tailor strategies to national realities rather than adopting imported solutions wholesale.
“We must be real and honest about the particularities and nuances of our individual societies, and tweak the learning and policies to fit our reality. Tailor the suit to fit the person,” he said.
The CICAD meeting at the Accra Beach Hotel spotlighted surging synthetic drug use among youth, treatment gaps and the urgency of regional cooperation. (SZB)
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