The T&T Drug Phenomenon Evolution Drug use/abuse has a long history in Trinidad and Tobago, dating as far back as the 16th century in the days of slavery and colonisation, when rum was produced and was the mainstay of the West Indian economy. With the start of the indentureship period during the 19th century and the arrival of the East Indian labourers also came marijuana. These two substances dominated up until the 1980s, when large quantities of cocaine began to surface as a result of our waters being used as a route for transhipment. While the traditional drugs (alcohol, marijuana and cocaine) are widely available and mainly used, the growing club culture in Trinidad over the past decade has brought with it the influx of "club" or "date-rape" drugs (synthetics), the most recent being ecstasy. The Current Scenario The increased use of Trinidad and Tobago, more so in the 1990s, as a major link in the drug supply chain had led to a marked increase in the prevalence and incidence of drug trafficking and drug consumption, particularly cocaine and marijuana, among the relatively young population. This development, which was already a supplement to our local production of marijuana, has been further exacerbated in recent years by the new mode of payment in products to local traffickers. This has further increased the volume/market of drug availability in the country. Bilateral and Multilateral Commitments Trinidad and Tobago is fully engaged in the international fight against drugs. To further this objective, this country has entered into a number of international and hemispheric commitments, among them: Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961 as amended by the 1972 Protocol Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971 United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances,1988 The United Nations Drug Control Programme Plan of Action for Drug Control Coordination and Cooperation in the Caribbean (Barbados Plan of Action, 1996). The Anti-Drug Strategy in the Hemisphere (1996) Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) -1996 The Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) Memorandum of Understanding (1996) Bridgetown Declaration of Principles (Caribbean/US Summit 1997) The European Union/Latin American/Caribbean Comprehensive Action Plan for Drugs (1999) United Nations Millennium Declaration Action Plan on International Cooperation on the Eradication of Illicit Drug Crops and on Alternative Development.

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