No. 2, Year 4
Second Quarter 2006

---

• Spanish Version
• Previous Issues
• Who we are
• Statistics
• National Drug Control Orgs.
• National Observatories
• International Organizations
• OID HelpDesk
• Contact OID

 

June 26: International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking

UNODC has selected "drugs are not child's play" as the theme of its 2006 international campaign, in an effort to increase public awareness about the destructive power of drugs and society's responsibility to care for the well-being of children. More details are available online. 

June 26: International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking

International bike riders competed in Jamaica to commemorate the International Day Against Illicit Trafficking and Drug Abuse. World-class competitors rode the grueling stage race along the north coast course starting from Ocho Rios via Montego Bay through Negril across to Whitehouse. The event took place June 23-25, 2006. The National Council on Drug Abuse (NCDA) benefited from this philanthropic initiative. 

The Bike Ride Against Drug Abuse (BRADA) was pioneered by Sandals International and the Jamaica Cycling Federation. This second staging was planned closely with the NCDA team. Corporate Jamaica, including sponsor Viva Water and NEM Insurance, warmed to the event, as did the National Commercial Bank (NCB), MIPHONE and Toyota Jamaica. The NCDA contributed prizes across several categories. Plans are in place to repeat the event in 2007 as part of Jamaica’s commemoration of the International Day against Illicit Trafficking and Drug Abuse.

NCDA’s Executive Director, Michael Tucker (center), shares media time with Deputy Commissioner Mark Shields (right) on Hot 102 with announcer Errol Smith.

Forty-five riders, including Jamaican teams, competed. The overall best rider was a 19-year old Jamaican, Alden Clunie. Simone Hall emerged as winner in the Women’s Open while Theo Raye Virgo topped the under-12 category. He received a bicycle donated by the Jamaica Cycling Federation.

Students between the ages of 9 and 15 participated in the BRADA Essay Competition. They were asked to write on the topic  “More Sports, No Drugs; A brighter future.” Jerine Benbridge, a 12-year old from Parry Town in St. Ann, won the best essay prize. BRADA received entries from countries such as Australia and the United States of America.

The Bahamas:

The Bahamas National Drug Council (BNDC) hosted a three-day "train-the-trainers" drug prevention education and health promotion workshop under the theme: "Come Follow Me, Let's Open Doors" in celebration of International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, June 26. This workshop used participatory methodology and involved some 30 participants who developed proposals to address the issues or challenges of drug abuse in the Central Eleuthera district (Governors Harbour), Bahamas.

Back to Issue Index