Anthony Harriott

Marcus Day

Axel Klein

In the Caribbean islands, ganja, crack cocaine and the policy responses to them have triggered a social disaster. The islands, under US pressure, have adopted a region-wide policy of criminalization. Specialized drug courts have been created and traditional cultural practices around ganja consumption have been criminalized with serious human and social consequences. This is the first book to examine the experiences of Caribbean countries since they adopted this coordinated approach to the drugs problem. It throws fascinating light on the difficulties facing drug abuse and rehabilitation centers, and explores "Harm Reduction", a fundamentally alternative approach to the drugs problem. There are valuable practical and policy lessons to be learned for other countries, including those with large Caribbean populations such as the US and UK.

From Criminalization to Harm Reduction

Caribbean Drugs

The Caribbean poses a significant drugs problem for the UK and the US, as the recent phenomenon of yardie gangs in British cities graphically illustrates. But in the islands themselves ganja, crack cocaine and the policies to control them have become, as this book demonstrates, a veritable social disaster. The authors, who are among the leading local researchers and engaged professionals in the region as well as the former regional head of the UN Drugs Control Programme, bring together new research investigations, insightful policy analysis and practical experience of on-the-ground interventions putting demand reduction into practice. The dimensions of the illicit drugs market in the Caribbean are made clear. The origins of the problem lie in part, it is argued, with the impact of neoliberal economic policies that have opened up the region's borders and gravely undermined its traditional sources of employment and exports, like bananas and sugar. The islands, in part under external US pressure, have adopted a region-wide policy of criminalization This has involved the creation of specialized drug courts and serious human and social consequences as a result of criminalizing traditional cultural practices around ganja consumption. Fascinating light is thrown on the difficulties facing drug abuse and rehabilitation centres and the dilemmas they throw up. Harm reduction as a fundamentally alternative approach to the drugs problem is also explored. This is the first book to examine the experiences of Caribbean countries since they adopted a coordinated approach to the drugs problem. There are valuable lessons to be learned at both policy and practical levels for other countries, and in particular those like the UK and US with large Caribbean populations.

Examines the growing crime problem in Jamaica and explores the relationship between crime, politics and the economy and analyses the impact of crime on tourism. The articles collected here provide a comprehensive analysis of the causes, consequences and control of crime, and they point the way to solving Jamaica's escalating criminal activity.

Anthony Harriott

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