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ALMOST two months after US President Donald Trump ordered the US Navy to the southern Caribbean, the geopolitical tension in the region has become palpable.
Over 300 US troops aboard the USS Gravely are expected to arrive in Trinidad on October 26 for military training with TT Defence Force personnel. The warship is a formidable asset capable of launching a variety of missiles, including Tomahawk (land strikes), standard missiles, and anti-submarine missiles.
It is one of eight warships that have formed a blockade around Venezuela and left its president, Nicolas Maduro, appealing for peace. Although Venezuela is not a major drug producer, the US has maintained that its military operations are geared towards crippling the illegal drug trade coming from that country to the Caribbean and North America.
[caption id="attachment_1146131" align="alignnone" width="572"] Potted marijuana plants seized by police during a raid in Tobago. - Photo courtesy TTPS[/caption]
According to a Newsday investigation, the effects are being felt locally, and many people are reminded in more ways than one about the African proverb: when elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers.
Just seven miles separate TT from Venezuela and the two neighbours have shared a rich history, with parang music, food and other aspects of its culture becoming mainstays in TT owing to the intermingling of its people.
However, also being transported along those seven miles of sea and other transshipment routes are illegal drugs, including marijuana, cocaine, and guns. According to multiple sources, since the US operations in the southern Caribbean began in late August, the price of marijuana has soared.
In case there was any doubt, TT has given the US its unequivocal support for its aggressive approach to combating drug trafficking in the region. In a media release on October 19, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sean Sobers reaffirmed the stance taken by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar at the UN General Assembly, there will be no peace in the Caribbean until drug traffickers are all killed – violently.
[caption id="attachment_1062853" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Marijuana trees which were found in the forests by police. - Photo courtesy TTPS[/caption]
Her declaration to "fight fire with fire" will not be shied away from by the US, which has already killed 43 alleged drug traffickers in eight lethal missile strikes in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific.
At least two Trinidadians have allegedly been killed in these operations. According to the family of Las Cuevas fisherman Chad Joseph, their relative was innocently executed while commuting between the countries. However, Minister of Homeland Security Roger Alexander has questioned what Joseph was doing in Venezuela, reminding the public of a 2018 Coast Guard bust of a vessel coming from Venezuela loaded with drugs and ammunition in which Joseph was aboard.
The US operations have shaken drug traffickers and also left legitimate fishermen scared to venture out to sea. The consequence has been felt on the streets of TT, where the demand for illegal drugs remains high, but the supply of the foreign product has suddenly dwindled.
 
Street price climbs drastically
 
In an interview with Newsday recently, a police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said information on the ground is that there is a marked increase in the price of illegal drugs on the local market since the US operations.
"It hadda be that, what else it go be, boy," he said.
The officer, with over a decade in the service, said the price of a block (one kilo/2.2 pounds) of marijuana has increased significantly.
A source close to the underworld told Newsday the popular Colombian kush marijuana was sold at $3,000 per pound a few months ago, but it is now $6,000 per pound.
[caption id="attachment_895322" align="alignnone" width="768"] In this file photo, North Eastern Division police stand near a pile of marijuana trees found in a forested area in Maracas Bay. - Photo courtesy TTPS[/caption]
For the international high-grade smokers, they would have to dig deeper into their pockets for the same high as the cost has ballooned from $22,000 per pound to $28,000 per pound.
Asked what the difference was between the Colombian kush and the high-grade marijuana, a smoker told Newsday, "Taste, flavour, texture, and a higher high."
The policeman from East Trinidad said there seems to be an increased demand now for locally grown marijuana as the supply of the Colombian kush and high-grade marijuana skyrockets due to its scarcity.
"From the time the US crippled that trade, local marijuana selling more. Kush had taken over the market. Men still getting their thing, eh. If yuh want the vice, you go pay for it."
A local drug dealer, speaking on condition of strict anonymity, said he has been forced to fork out more for his supply of narcotics. He said he used to pay around $1,800 to $2,600 for kush before, but now it is about $5,600 to $6,000 a pound. He said the popular "green kush" is also extremely scarce, and only the "gold kush and brown kush" are available.
"It all started within that bacchanal," he said, referring to the US-Venezuela tension.
He said previously, 85 per cent of his sales would be for kush while the remainder would be local marijuana. He said many of the "old school" users prefer local marijuana.
The dealer said local farmers may get an opportunity to make a profit amid the stranglehold on imported marijuana.
"Who find the price for kush kinda high will make the switch. Local men could stand ah chance now," he said.
He believes local marijuana is better to smoke than kush as you can still be productive.
"Kush is a different 'head' to local. With local weed, you can still be able to function when the day comes. Local weed is the better thing to smoke. Kush will have you kinda lazy."
 
Less drugs, more crime?
 
The dealer said there are many varying views about the US-Venezuela situation.
"It have people who go like it and it have people who eh go like it. It have people who say they doing it because of the crime situation. But the place (illegal business) will slow down, and some think this will fuel crime. Ah boy who was hustling he lil thing before, he may go out now and start to rob because they go want to feed their family."
He said while the decriminalisation of marijuana locally is welcomed, it has left smokers and people who see it as a business confused.
According to the Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, 2019, a person is allowed to grow four plants in their household.
However, a person is only allowed 30 grammes of marijuana in their possession.
The dealer said one plant can give a yield of one pound of marijuana so if police raid someone's home after cultivation, then they may be in hot water.
"It's a Catch-22. You could get locked up. It's very tricky how it set up," he said.
The dealer said that while marijuana was once the preferred drug of choice, there are many young people now who are trying cocaine. With the decline in the supply of kush, he believes those who have dabbled with the "white" will get their vice there.
"Plenty youth men since the Spanish came, they get accustomed to the snorting. Since they can't get the kush, they might go to that or to this pill that they're taking now." He said he was unaware of the pill, but said it causes users to "get on real bad."
Acting Commissioner of Police Junior Benjamin, in an interview with Newsday, said his ear is not to the ground as it once was, as he is more part of the administrative arm of the police now.
However, he said it made sense for the price of foreign marijuana to increase, given the economies of scale. He said that with the current state of emergency (SoE) measures and the US crackdown, it would be likely that the supply of narcotics would decrease.
An individual who described himself as a casual smoker said international high-grade marijuana was his usual drug of choice.
Asked how he has responded as a consumer to the price increase, he said, "I'll smoke less."
Another person familiar with the industry said the SoE has hurt local farmers as he heard rumours of police entering people's property without warrants – as the SoE allows – and destroying plants beyond the four stipulated by law.
 
Beware laced ganja to 'stretch' supply
 
Sherry Pierre, administrator at the TT National Council on Alcoholism and Other Addictions, told Newsday that a decrease in the supply is unlikely to force addicts into a behavioural change. She said seeking treatment is the only viable alternative.
She said many alcoholics were unable to consume their typical number of drinks during the covid19 restrictions in 2020 but were back to their old habits once those measures were lifted.
"People still gonna use," she said.
She warned marijuana users to be extremely careful now that the supply is limited.
She said some dealers may add foreign agents to "stretch" their supply.
"They're gonna lace it with other drugs. They would lace it with powder; it could be laced with corn starch; it could be laced with fentanyl. They would add things to make it stretch and increase the supply, so they don't have to put as much of the original substance. It would keep the potency high and keep you addicted, so you would pay whatever price you would have to pay.
"It's not gonna go away like that simply because of the supply drop."
Pierre said many addicts would go through withdrawal symptoms when they aren't able to get their usual fix. She warned of grumpy behaviour or being argumentative and confrontational.
"You will see a little slump, but they not going to go away. They are still addicted," she said.
She agreed that the supply from Trinidad will sell more in the interim."
"It's still growing all over. Yuh not not gonna see a change really, Yuh might see a dip but not a change overall."
 
If you or a loved one is addicted to gambling and needs help, call the TT National Council on Alcoholism and Other Addictions at 627-8213/757-8213 or New Life Ministries Drug Rehabilitation Centre at 297-5166.
 
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