Eye on the Issue: Youth, Marijuana, the Use, Misuse and the Law. This
is the subject under discussion tonight, February 29, when several
experts will bring their knowledge and experience to a town hall
meeting at the Multipurpose Centre.
According to organizer Mandy Weatherhead of the Mandy Premier
League, the audience will hear from a medical doctor who
specializes in the treatment of addicts; a counselor and registered
addiction specialist; a member of the Rastafari community; an
herbalist; an educator; and an attorney at law.
Their messages will be pitched at parents, teachers and other school
personnel, law-enforcement officers, and persons involved in youth
development through sports and other activities.
The audience will have the opportunity to put questions to the
panelists, as well.
Weatherhead explains that a lot of people are talking about the
youth – the violence and crime in which they are involved, as well as
the mental illnesses they are manifesting – and their links to the
misuse of marijuana.
However, he says, hardly anybody is doing anything about it –
including the authorities with the resources.
Accordingly, Weatherhead is making a second stab at bringing these
issues to the fore and, hopefully, inspiring some action to back up
the talk.
His first foray into public education on these challenges was held at
the National Public Library in March 2023.
While the event attracted stellar presenters, the audience was small,
Weatherhead says, with even the minister of education and sports
failing to support the effort.
However, he hopes the public’s conscience and consciousness are
now awakened and that those who claim to care about the youth
will turn out.
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Jamale Pringle, who has been an
advocate for mental health, particularly among young men, is
encouraging concerned residents to make use of the opportunity to
hear from the experts.
“These are challenging times for young people,” he notes, “and we
have to catch the vulnerable before they fall through the cracks.
“By vulnerable, I mean the boys and girls who are not taking
education seriously; the young men sitting on corners because they
have no jobs; the children raising themselves,” he says.
“There are too many with mental illnesses wandering the streets.
Too many involved in criminal activities,” he adds.
Accordingly, he says, he welcomes and applauds Weatherhead’s
commitment to bringing awareness to the public.
