By Anesta Henry
The National Council on Substance Abuse (NCSA) says it is equipped to help anyone who is hooked on the highly addictive and deadly methamphetamine, commonly known as meth.
While saying that the NCSA has not seen anyone seeking help since it was reported in March that the drug is in Barbados, Deputy Manager Troy Wickham told Barbados TODAY that the Council is prepared for anyone who comes forward.
“We are equipped to handle this. As the person in charge of programming at the NCSA, I am making sure that the staff are on the cutting edge of training as it relates to the use of methamphetamine and how we are to handle persons,” he said on Monday as Barbados observed International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.
“We are also educating persons in the treatment community as to assist persons who present themselves to those facilities on how to handle and manage the care of those persons who the use of methamphetamine has impacted.”
In March, Minister of Home Affairs and Information Wilfred Abrahams Wilfred Abrahams said he was concerned about the news from the Government Forensic Sciences Centre that the highly-addictive stimulant that affects the body’s central nervous system was here.
A quantity of the drug, brought from Canada to Barbados, was intercepted earlier that month. It was also confirmed that there were a “couple of cases” before the law courts related to meth possession.
Wickham noted that in light of the development, training has been ongoing for first responders on how to manage persons who have used meth.
“We have trained at least 30 first responders in the handling of methamphetamine, identification of methamphetamine, and we have a big training seminar for mid-August for first responders, where we will have persons coming in from the international community to assist with this training. And we conduct constant webinars, which have become a regular part of our programming both in our primary and secondary schools,” he said.
Meanwhile, speaking at the opening and dedication of the NCSA’s Training Room and Life Skills Centre and the Ishmael and Margaret Counselling Rooms at the council’s headquarters in Belleville, St Michael on Monday, Minister of Home Affairs Wilfred Abrahams reminded that the organisation is not just for drug users to seek help, but free resources are also available for relatives of those seeking help.
He encouraged the NCSA to utilise all available means to spread the word about its services, including highlighting both the success stories as well as the negative outcomes so that Barbadians, especially the youth, are made aware of the possible consequences of ill-advised choices.
“When an individual’s ability to make choices is impacted by substance use, that person is now faced with the challenge of not only the damage which can result from substance use but also must cope with the stigma which accompanies substance use disorders.
“It is important, then, that we continue to make spaces like this available to assist persons, not only through counselling but also with the provision of skills which they can then utilise to help create better future for themselves,” Abrahams said.
The new training rooms are named after Ishmael Morris and Margaret Durant, former employees of the NCSA. Morris, a former Deputy Manager of the NCSA, was instrumental in the establishment of the organisation now known as the Centre for Counseling Addiction Support Alternatives (CASA) and, at one point, tried to assist in setting up a meeting space at the NSCA for Narcotics Anonymous.
Even after he retired from the NCSA, Morris dedicated his talent to his church to set up a counselling resource called Rebirth.
Durant, who was known as the “ears and eyes” of the NCSA, kept the office in check and went above and beyond the call of duty to administer her administrative roles.
