PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos Islands; Thursday June 18, 2009- The Turks and Caicos Islands National Drug Unit, in partnership with Digicel - the main sponsor, hosted the Turks and Caicos Islands Community College Annual Debate at the Gustavus Lightbourne Sport Complex in Providenciales. The Drug Unit is on a crusade to educate youths of the Turks and Caicos Islands about the dangers of drug abuse, be it alcohol or substance.
The mission of the National Drug Unit is to reduce the demand for drugs, alcohol and other substances of abuse and to provide rehabilitation opportunities for the Turks and Caicos Islands population by providing comprehensive and effective programs in prevention, education, and community outreach; creating an environment that is supportive and reducing the stigma of being an alcoholic or drug addict, along with providing overseas treatment for clients in need of impatient rehabilitation.
This year, the debate featured three students from Grand Turk and three from the Providencales campuses. Focused on the highly controversial topic of legalizing the drug “Marijuana”, also know as, pot, ganja and Mary Jane just to name a few, the moot for the debate was: “Marijuana is a natural herb created by God therefore it should be made legal”.
Debaters covered areas such as the religious, environmental, medicinal, and social capabilities of the drug, with the Grand Turk campus arguing against legalising the drug, and the Providenciales campus arguing for the drug to be made legal.
After a heated debate, the Grand Turk Campus came out victorious winning with a score of 655 points, to the Providenciales score of 597 points. The top speaker was Latisha Williams from the Grand Turk team; the first runner up was Wendell Rolle of Providenciales team, with the second runner up being Edward Hall of Grand Turk.
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