Prevention cash well spent

Catherine Chesnut, CEO, National Drug Council	Dwight Scott, Director of Prisons

Wednesday,  January 19, 2005

Statistics all round prove that money spent on drug prevention is money well spent, even though it often seems that support is usually easier to get for treatment programmes than prevention.

“A focus on prevention helps everyone realise that the temptation is out there. Through prevention programmes they are also made aware of the various things that may cause them to experiment. These programmes assist them in realising what their real options are,” explained Chief of Prisons, Dwight Scott.

“In the Cayman Islands, we have proven in many ways that money spent on prevention is well applied, and I say this even though I sit, more directly, on the rehabilitative or treatment side of such programmes,” said Mr Scott.

The greater number of recidivists in the rehabilitation system, versus newcomers, in Cayman also demonstrates the stronghold that prevention has taken in stemming the growth of drug usage in the Islands.

National Drug Council (NDC) Chief Executive Officer, Catherine Chesnut said that the NDC’s activities “validate themselves in survey figures that show the NDC’s targeted intervention programmes – such as the ‘No Booze Cruise’ for teenagers, and others – lower the appeal for use of banned and illegal substances to non-users.”

“We keep the focus on the very vast pool of non-drug users across all age groups that we need to keep away from addictive and dependent substance abuse,” said Mrs. Chesnut.

Against this background, the NDC is set to launch another major undertaking under the prevention banner. The ‘Never Be Bored Again’ programme, to be launched in the near future, also keeps a focus on teenagers.

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