Kanisa George
In the early 1980s, then US president Ronald Reagan initiated his war on drugs campaign in response to what was viewed as a drug use endemic in the US. The Just Say No to Drugs campaign created a new system of drug enforcement, underscored by increased penalties for drug possession, minimum sentences for drug-related offences, and increased funding for drug enforcement measures.
Some might argue the sole purpose of this campaign was the infamy of Pablo Escobar and the Medellin Cartel. At the heights of its operation in the mid-1970s, it is estimated that the Medellin Cartel imported approximately 15 tonnes of cocaine into the US, using the Caribbean and other South American countries as transit hubs. Introducing what is now known as the transnational drug trade to the Caribbean region, this activity brought a barrage of socio-economic issues along for the ride. The infamous Scott Drug Commission reported that the Medellin Cartel flooded TT with drugs for movement through the island chain to the US and Europe, forever changing the landscape of our society.
But drugs didn’t always have a bad rap. For centuries many drugs that have now garnered illegal status, such as marijuana, opium, coca, and psychedelics have been used for medical and spiritual purposes.
Some archaeologists believe that enough evidence suggests international drug trades existed from as early as 1000 BC.
Drug use was common in ancient times, and it was a feature in almost every society. So, should it then come as a surprise that drug use has remained so common in modern-day society?
Socialisation has forced us to believe that drug use is simply a fad wrapped in the arms of youth and revelry. When in fact, many liken it to an institution.
Sociologist Erich Goode posited that “humans have been ingesting drugs for thousands of years. And throughout recorded time, significant numbers of nearly every society on earth have used one or more drugs to achieve certain desired physical or mental states.
The ancient Sumerians started using opium around about 5000 BCE, and what we know today as marijuana has been used in Chinese society since 3000 BCE.
So how did we get from there to here and back?
When did drugs become the root of all evil?
It is often said that too much of anything is good for nothing. The race for that indescribable high that drugs offer fuels our need for more. The result, a breakdown in social norms, family ties, and, you guessed it, the onslaught of violent crimes.
In the early 19th century the use of opium, made famous throughout the war, skyrocketed owing to a lack of restrictions. One writer posits that children were calmed with opium derivatives in almost every corner of the world. And adults used many popular patent medicines liberally larded with opiates. Even our favourite movie night drink, Coca Cola contained the coca leaf extract, from which cocaine is derived, as one of its ingredients. But, above all, regulating these substances became the main cause for concern, resulting in overall ban
