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Creation of task force vs illegal drugs ordered
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Posted on Aug 30 1999
Public Health Secretary Joseph Kevin Villagomez has ordered the creation of a prevention task force composed of representatives from the government and the private sector as part of the department’s campaign against drugs.
The Division of Mental Health and Social Services will initially make up the group, which will later involve other agencies like the Food and Nutrition Council to give the people an alternative life style.
Villagomez said some of his patients before are willing to talk to kids to share their experiences as former drug dependents. “We have to push hard on that information campaign against drugs,” he said.
Villagomez has earlier warned the community that the sale of methamphetamine hydrochloride or ‘ice’ is on the rise again.
Although there is no available data yet from the Department of Public Health to prove the growing addiction to ‘ice’, Villagomez said he was approached by former patients who want to seek medical treatment again.
The health chief also cited the growing incidents of violence such as wife beating and burglary, activities that were rampant when the use of ‘ice’ was widespread in 1992-1995.
Some of the worst possible crimes on the island have been traced to drugs. In 1997, a mother of four was killed by a former prosecutor believed under the influence of ‘ice’. The man is now languishing in jail serving life imprisonment.
In 1995, amid the spread of ‘ice’ there were 10 murders committed in the CNMI.
Amid the growing campaign of some sectors in society to legalize the use of marijuana in the CNMI, Villagomez has ordered the Division of Mental Health and Services to revive efforts in educating the people about its negative effects.
Villagomez, former director of the division, said the group seeking the legalization of marijuana do not fully understand the damage it can create on a person’s brain.
Currently, a huge chunk of the funding on medical referral is spent on the treatment of patients who use illegal drugs, alcohol and nicotine, he said. The use of marijuana will only contribute to the growing social problems such as increase in crime rate and wife beating, he added.
