Caribbean Drugs: From Criminalization to Harm Reduction - Hardcover

9781842774984: Caribbean Drugs: From Criminalization to Harm Reduction

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1842774980 ISBN 13: 9781842774984

Publisher: Zed Books, 2004

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.

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About the Author:

Axel Klein is head of research at DrugScope, an information and advice-giving charity with which the book is associated. He is a fellow at St. Anthony's College, Oxford, and the coeditor of Fragile Peace (Zed Books, 2002).

Marcus Day is coordinator of the Caribbean Harm Reduction Coalition, Saint Lucia.

Anthony Harriott is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Government, University of the West Indies, Mona Campus.

Review:

"Caribbean Drugs: From Criminalization to Harm Reduction provides substance abuse researchers, clinicians, policy makers, and general readers on both sides of the Atlantic with a collection of interesting and provocative essays. Because the Caribbean Basin is an understudied part of the hemisphere, particularly with regard to the 'drug problem,' this book fills a major gap. In that the topics it covers include history, philosophy, cultural studies, and politics, all woven into a public policy debate, it has something for everyone. I highly recommend it."--James A. Inciardi, University of Delaware
"This much-welcomed book provides a unique insight...into smaller countries' attempts to shape and mould their policy and response to drugs in the context of national, regional and international imperatives."--Gerry Stimson, Imperial College, London
"About a hundred years ago a few colonial countries plus the USA designed a system of prohibiting drugs that now can be considered to be a major problem for human rights and state sovereignty. The developing countries of the Caribbean act like a transit area between poor producing and rich consuming countries, creating a modern Al Capone's paradise. Klein helps analyze the situation from many angles. He presents a score of useful interpretations and figures that may speed up a thorough overhaul of this obsolete system of drug prohibition."--Peter Cohen, University of Amsterdam
"A refreshing look at the impact that drug policies have had on 'the problem' of drug use of the English speaking countries of the Caribbean."--Cindy Fazey, University of Liverpool

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