The AG seeks to protect ‘the most vulnerable’ members of our society. Children are first and foremost vulnerable to abuse and are very impressionable to marketing given their young age. Stoney Ground School, now known as the Orealia Kelly Primary School, has beautiful, bright young children who have faced the marketing of rum via a bar located immediately adjacent to school grounds.
This has been an old, new low for Anguilla. Rum has damaged heavily the lives of students who went to that school. The Farrington, Rey Hill and Stoney Ground have lost many young men to alcohol. I went to OKPS and loved to go by ‘Zura’ , at the store immediately adjacent, which sold muffins, candy and snow cones. Let’s be clear, rum is not candy.
Our Education Act currently forbids the sale of alcohol on school premises. The apple falls close to the tree. Youth model behaviour, good or bad. Rum is ‘too close for comfort’ when it comes to our children. Are lawmakers happy with about this?
There is a roaring monster that will mushroom problems in our island: ALCOHOL. There is simply way too much drinking and drunks in our tiny country. There are bars opening up everywhere! There are more since hurricane Irma.
Citizens and residents here are sad about the losses caused by the big storm. Alcohol will give us bigger headaches, problem after problem, chaos upon crash. Relationships could fail. Parents could abuse. Drivers could die. Young men could get sick. Women could be raped. Leaders could lose their way. It is fast reducing the social gains we have made. The more alcohol we drink the more vulnerable we become.
‘We shall reap what we sow’ and we surely are spending too much cash and time with something that can ruin us. A few people will get much money selling rum, vodka, brandy, whisky, beer etc to the masses. Sad! Can we choose profits over people? Serve God, not alcohol.
All states of the USA prohibit the sale of alcohol to those under 21. We should do even better. Many states prohibit the sale of alcohol on Sundays. We should do much better. If lawmakers in parts of Africa, Asia and America have put the prohibition on alcohol, why can’t we? We need a “Big Break” from alcohol.
Alcohol regulation laws have failed. They failed our families, churches, drunkards and social development plans. Why should bars be located next to primary schools? Why is it ok to market the biggest drug that kills our people?
Proposed cannabis decriminalization laws could allow those with 10 g or less of Ganja to have it, as it is unclear to me whether police ‘can’ confiscate it versus ‘will’ have to confiscate it. Ganja spliffs if smoked in regions around the schools would further burden the minds of children more with living examples of drug use. Rum and tobacco are not good for children so imagery and use of such should be distanced from schools.
Ganja use among school children is already a problem in many parts of the world, and it is definitely happening here in Anguilla. If a child eats marijuana in a sugar cake or cookie, our public lab does not have the tests to screen for illicit drugs. How then can we expect the police or doctors to act definitively if they can’t know what they are dealing with, or treating?
A church is not far away from the OKPS, and many pastors, citizens and I, have stated loudly and clearly, for years, that we must keep alcohol sales away from schools. We have not been, and will not be hypocrites, and will keep saying that all recreational drugs are a dangerous habit for you. Prevention is better than cure.
This AG is on his way out of office, and perhaps Anguilla. We will suffer the consequences of decriminalization. This island should work carefully with the incoming AG on a reasonable and responsible way forward for our youth.
