Drug Demand Reduction Alcohol Abuse Prevention Programme About Us

The National Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Programme (NADAPP) was established as a response to the urgent need to mount a comprehensive and coordinated attack on the problem of the escalating and widespread incidence of alcohol and drug abuse and their related problems. From as early as 1956 an Alcoholism Treatment Programme was established at St. Ann’s Hospital, an event that made Trinidad and Tobago unique in the English speaking Caribbean. However it was quickly realized that opening a treatment centre, only addressed itself to one aspect of a complicated and multifaceted substance abuse problem existing in the community. As such, there was a need to establish a programme that would foster, assist, co-ordinate and initiate, where appropriate, the efforts of governmental and non-governmental institutions involved in the struggle to rid the nation of the scourge of drug abuse.

Numerous reports conducted in Trinidad and Tobago lent support to the need to establish such a programme. One such report was the survey conducted on Drug Abuse by the Pantin Commission of Inquiry in 1971. The survey reported that marijuana was a significant drug of abuse among the school age population, particularly those between 15 and 20 years. An additional finding showed that 31% of youngsters at youth camps were also using marijuana.

Dr. Michael Beaubrun, a noted psychiatrist, reported on the increase in alcohol related road accidents and the high correlation between the abuse of alcohol and the incidence of road accidents in 1977 and, in 1981, on the high rate of admissions for alcohol detoxification in Trinidad and Tobago and the high increase of cirrhosis of the liver.

Prasad (1979) in a survey of admissions to the medical ward at Port of Spain General Hospital noted that 47% of all males and 5% of female admissions were alcohol related. Another highly significant finding from this hospital survey was that 78% of these patients held skilled and semi-skilled occupations.

Yet another report made by Lewis ( personal communication) showed that during the period 1977-1981, 20-25% of admissions to St. Ann’s Hospital were for alcoholism. The Alcoholism Treatment Center at St. Ann’s was in fact treating approximately 300 patients per year.

Additionally, there were numerous reports emanating from the local as well as U.S Customs indicating an increased use of Trinidad and Tobago as a major transshipment point for both cocaine and marijuana, while police statistics on drug seizures, drug related arrest and marijuana eradication continue to show a rise in number.

Concerned about the rapid escalation of drug related problems, a national committee was formed in the late 1983 to develop a Plan of Action to combat and prevent drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking. The committee was intersectional in composition and included representatives from several government ministries, voluntary organizations, statutory bodies and international organizations.

The outcome of the deliberation of this group was the 1985 ‘Report on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention (a proposed plan of action)’, which provided the basis for the development of a National Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention strategy. Based on the recommendation of this report, the National Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Programme (NADAPP) was approved by Cabinet in 1985, formally instituted in 1986 and a Secretariat established in November 1988. NADAPP is a division in the Office of the Prime Minister, Social Services Delivery. It has been established as ‘The Drug Demand Reduction Agency’. Its mandate includes coordinating drug abuse prevention initiatives and fostering and facilitating the efforts of the non-government organizations involved in the thrust against drug use and substance abuse.

Also established along with NADAPP was an advisory committee with specific terms of reference directed towards finding a solution to the problem of drug abuse. This committee, the Technical Advisory Committee on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (TACADA), comprised of experts in various fields that impact on the drug abuse problem, is essentially responsible for developing programmes and project proposals, monitoring their progress, and providing expert advice to government on various drug abuse matters. The Secretariat reports to the Committee.

NADAPP’s goal therefore is to reduce both licit and illicit drug abuse through a preventative approach. This involves informing the public of the health and social consequences of substance abuse as well as the benefits of adopting healthy lifestyles. Hence the objectives of NADAPP are as follows: -

To develop a research capability for continuous assessment of the extent and peculiarities of the problem of Alcohol and Drug Abuse.

To reduce the demand by the nation’s population for alcohol and other drugs through the development of a Public Education and Information Programme, a Community Based Prevention Activities Programme, A School Drug Education Programme, a Treatment and Rehabilitation Programme, and an Employee Assistance Programme.

To eliminate the production, trafficking and use of illicit drugs through improvement in the efficiency and effectiveness of the Law Enforcement Agencies and the enactment of appropriate legislation.

To develop a cohesive and well-coordinated partnership among the government agencies, non-government organizations, community groups, international agencies and foreign governments in the offensive against alcohol and drug abuse.

Main Source: Report on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention – Ministry of Health and Environment and the PAHO/WHO Port of Spain

National Alcohol & Drug Abuse Prevention Programme

History