Drugs in Mauritius
Common illegal drugs in Mauritius include marijuana and opiates. According to the 2011 United Nations Drug Report, the small population of Mauritius has a prevalence of opiate consumption of 0.91%, the highest in Eastern Africa, while 3.9%[1] of the population are regular cannabis consumers.
History
Drug consumption on the island is not a recent phenomenon. Following the abolition of slavery in 1834, Mauritius, then a British colony, experienced an inflow of indentured labourers from India who introduced cannabis to the island. During the same period, immigrants from China brought opium to the island. These drugs mainly served traditional purposes and were not of serious public concern.[2]
In the late 1970s, "brown sugar", a derivative of heroin, was introduced. Drug consumption deviated from its rather disciplined socio-cultural use and drug use proliferated. Mass drug proliferation was further aided by the development of extensive air and sea networks to Africa, South and Southeast Asia and Europe, combined with a free port.
With drug smuggling rising, local social centres noted a huge rise in the number of child and teenage addicts. Drug addiction in Mauritius has led to the proliferation of prostitution, thefts and armed attack.
Treatment
Historically, the system convicted drug addicts rather than offering them treatment.
However, in January 2006, the methadone substitution therapy was implemented[3] to help treat drug addicts. To emphasize its new strategy of treatment rather than conviction, the government made needle exchanges legal in November 2007, when it launched, in collaboration with the Collectif Urgence Toxida (CUT), a needle exchange programme.[4]
The main centres responsible for treating drug addiction are:[2]
- The National Centre for Rehabilitation of Drug Addicts
- Dr. Idrice Goomany Treatment Centre
- The Mauritius Sanathan Dharma Temples Federation
- Centre d'Accueil de Terre Rouge.
The carceral system also attempts to reform drug offenders though their Treatment and Rehabilitation Programme.
The Anti-Drug and Smuggling Unit
The drug situation in Mauritius led to the restructuring of the Anti-Drug and Smuggling Unit (ADSU). The following responsibilities were given to the ADSU:[5]
- Suppress the supply of illicit drugs
- Arrest drug offenders and have them prosecuted
- Locate and destroy all cannabis plantations
- Prevent and detect smuggling.
Besides fighting drug proliferation directly through the detection and prevention of drug offences, the ADSU jointly conducts sensitization campaigns, targeting different layers of the population, with the National Agency for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Substance Abusers (NATReSA). In 2016, the Minister of Health criticized the National Agency for the Treatment And Rehabilitation of Substances Abuses for failing to prevent drug abuse.[6]
References cited
- References
- ↑ "UN world drug report 2011" (PDF). UN. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
- 1 2 "International Centre for Drug Abuse Prevention in Schools: Mauritius Drug Profiles". M. O. BAKARKHAN. Retrieved 12/02/2012. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "Harm reduction in Mauritius". Dr Fayzal Sulliman. Retrieved 12/02/2012. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "Mauritius: Dangerous paradise- Sex, drugs and HIV". Retrieved 12/02/2012. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "Anti Drug & Smuggling Unit (ADSU)". Retrieved 12/02/2012. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ http://www.lexpress.mu/article/284585/anil-gayan-natresa-failli-dans-sa-tache
External links
- The World Factbook: Illicit drugs, Retrieved 12 Feb 2012. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2086.html
- Index Mundi: Mauritius Illicit Drugs, Retrieved 12 Feb 2012. http://www.indexmundi.com/mauritius/illicit_drugs.html