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  • 6 months ago
The proposal by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to raise the legal age for alcohol consumption to 21 and marijuana use to 25 is getting support from Social Activist and Director of Eye on Dependency, Garth St. Clair. He says the move is a step in the right direction.

Nicole M Romany reports.
Transcript
00:00Sinclair, like many others, says he fully supports the Prime Minister's proposal to
00:05raise the legal age for both alcohol and marijuana use.
00:09He believes the move could have far-reaching social benefits, noting that substance abuse
00:15doesn't just fuel crime, it also damages relationships, contributes to domestic violence, child neglect
00:22and can lead to mental health challenges.
00:25He says the Prime Minister is correct, but it must be all hands on deck.
00:30Very stranger, no nonsense, zero tolerance to this, especially now it's vacation time,
00:38so they're going to get wild.
00:40The club owners who only think about that dollar, when they see heads, they see money.
00:45They don't see young people coming in there to damage themselves, and remember now we have
00:49party jobs in the mix.
00:51So the police know we have to get involved by having undercover police officers who rules
00:57these clubs.
00:58He tells The Morning Edition that enforcing higher age limits may be difficult, but says
01:04it is the smart, unnecessary thing to do.
01:07According to Sinclair, bold action is needed if the country is serious about protecting its
01:13youth and reducing long-term social fallout.
01:16In growing up, you go on a block, the adults ran you off the block, because they look out
01:21for you.
01:22But now we have responsible adults who are encouraging and condoning underage drinking,
01:27gambling and the likes.
01:30So this has to be a national discussion and have everybody like the bar owners, the mass
01:39bands, they must be brought into the discussion and impressed upon them.
01:45We have to prepare for our future.
01:47The social activist stresses that the issue must be addressed from an early age.
01:53It is time, once again, to start getting reactive staff from kindergarten, start educating and
02:02give these young people and give them the opportunity to make an informed choice.
02:07You want to succeed in life?
02:09You will be damaging your brains before the age of 25 if you ingest any substance or take
02:16part in any activity that will get you addicted.
02:19So we must go to the schools now.
02:24Nicole M Romany, TV6 News.
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