Saint Lucia’s Ministry of Health personnel are concerned about the latest revelation that drug-laced candy is being sold and consumed by the students in various schools.
As a consequence, the island’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr. Sharon Belmar-George, is alerting parents and guardians, as well as educators about the consequences of such action.
The CMO has singled out the situation as a dangerous trend in Saint Lucia, which warrants the urgent attention of the authorities.
“A lot of what we did not know is happening within the school system and this is typical of not using the public health approach when none of the agencies speak to each other,” declared Belmar-George, at the recent Saint Lucia Medical and Dental Association (SLMDA) awards ceremony.
Recalling her attendance at a consultation with the new Director of the Substance Abuse Advisory Council Secretariat (SAACS), about two moths ago, she said, “It was extremely alarming (at) that consultation when we noted what was happening at the schools, and what is happening within the community.
The CMO continued, “I was very surprised to see some of the products that was confiscated from school children.
While the SLHTA awards night focused on: Crime Prevention Strategies in Saint Lucia, Belmar-George also delved into the issue of substance abuse within the education system.
The CMO said, she was not aware that the drug choice among young people had evolved from the use of cannabis to harder substances “where we had reached the US level of all of those psychoactive substances…but there are a lot of those psychoactive substances which are in the real world that are really here.”
Belmar-George noted that the manufacture of new psychoactive substances and novel preparation of traditional drugs need to be under the public health and law enforcement radar as an emerging threat to health and security.
Reports state that THC Gummies and other candy edibles are infused with the psychoactive ingredient of marijuana.
Furthermore, it is reported that these ‘sweets’ can contain more than 20% THC. It is said that when ingested these edibles can take up to 20 or 30 minutes to have an effect on the individual.
The CMO stated that her department is collaborating with the Ministry of Education officials to look into the matter.
“It’s the products that look like regular gummies and candies, the Skittles …and if I pick up the pack, I wouldn’t know (the difference),” she said. “It only has a little cannabis leaf in the corner. These products are here and they are being used and shared within our school system and the police have been confiscating them from school children, but we are not aware that this is something that we should be looking at (and) the effects of it within our population.”
The Ministry of Health official disclosed that the SAACS Director was assessing the problem, and the health department is set on a campaign to target “the main areas of focus”.
She cautioned that parents may not be aware about the dangers associated with that candy product, which “are laced with a whole set of different substances.”
Meanwhile, according to the Academy of Pediatrics: “An intentional cannabis exposure in young children are increasing rapidly. These exposures can cause significant toxicity and are responsible for an increasing number of hospitalizations.”
Cognizant of the impending dangers associated with these psychoactive substances, public health authorities are employing measures that includes, changing the labels on packaging and increasing public education to mitigate against consuming these products.
Hi beautiful what else is new in the Land of Sun shine, Rum & Coke and beautiful ladies? in my time we just crossed the road where we bought ‘La Mint or Bool’ all sugar & no good. The Mint maker Miss Sean ran quite a profitable business there; The only drugs we knew about was bought at Clarks’ Drug store for health reasons by our parents. I occasionally use breath mints at our meetings and I would like to know of any additives for my mints since I often get within breath length of some of the attendants; I’m sure you can help and I will not hold my breath; but I must confess, whatever additives they sure do their intended purpose; stay, don’t change.