Why is DR *so* Anti-Drug?

Pure cash.
It is a way for the police, lawyers and corrupt officials to make cash.
The dealers are taxed by the police but apart from that, a Dominican is not going to have trouble if he smokes a joint in his house.
The trouble is reserved for the tourists who can pay.

Interestingly, there is no distinction when a tourist is caught with weed or cocaine.
Wallop!
Jail.
Off to the ATM plus whatever else the police think they can extract from the situation.

The Dominican Republic, as you can read in the news, is quite happy shipping cocaine to the US and other places. (The US and other places seem quite happy to buy it.)
The big stuff is a whole other story - it seems.

So I beleive Dominicans do not have a prudish attitude towards drugs.

As everywhere, the "opportunists" certainly exploit the drugs' illegal nature.
I think that "opportunism" is more institutionalised here than in other countries I have lived.

remedy4 said:

Ive done some research and its the most anti-drug country in the Carribean. My question is purely theoretical and academic - so don't get overexcited Is it cause the public's attitudes are strongly anti-drug and the laws are simply a reflection of that or something else?

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I thought your interest was in beautiful educated Dominican women. Now it's the drug laws? Your spell check should correct Ive and Im to I've and I'm and this is how Caribbean is spelled. I can see how educated you are but spelling is your short suit.

Originally Posted by remedy4 View Post
Who speak at least a little English. Im the kind of guy who can approach a girl in the street, cafe, anywhere without a problem. Im just wondering what's the best area in DR to meet educated women.

Who is this poster (remedy4) and what is he looking for?

Girls and drugs?

remedy4 said:

Ive done some research and its the most anti-drug country in the Carribean. My question is purely theoretical and academic - so don't get overexcited Is it cause the public's attitudes are strongly anti-drug and the laws are simply a reflection of that or something else?

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You hit the nail on the head. In the US a lot of people experiment or have experimented with drugs, especially those in school. However, here in the DR it is a different story.

Why is this? I can't tell you. All I know is that it is a good thing.

remedy4 said:

Ive done some research and its the most anti-drug country in the Carribean. My question is purely theoretical and academic - so don't get overexcited Is it cause the public's attitudes are strongly anti-drug and the laws are simply a reflection of that or something else?

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The only drugs the "public" needs here is beatiful women and booze, there is no culture of consuming drugs here in the DR. Yet.....

pedrochemical said:

Pure cash.
It is a way for the police, lawyers and corrupt officials to make cash.
The dealers are taxed by the police but apart from that, a Dominican is not going to have trouble if he smokes a joint in his house.
The trouble is reserved for the tourists who can pay.

Interestingly, there is no distinction when a tourist is caught with weed or cocaine.
Wallop!
Jail.
Off to the ATM plus whatever else the police think they can extract from the situation.

The Dominican Republic, as you can read in the news, is quite happy shipping cocaine to the US and other places. (The US and other places seem quite happy to buy it.)
The big stuff is a whole other story - it seems.

So I beleive Dominicans do not have a prudish attitude towards drugs.

As everywhere, the "opportunists" certainly exploit the drugs' illegal nature.
I think that "opportunism" is more institutionalised here than in other countries I have lived.

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You really don't know what you are talking about....If somehow the police finds out there is drug in any house, they will raid it, search warrant or not and the owners of the drugs will appear in the newspaper next morning...

ExtremeR said:

The only drugs the "public" needs here is beatiful women and booze, there is no culture of consuming drugs here in the DR. Yet.....

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And I'm hopelessly addicted. and I dont need no 12 step recovery program.

....

ExtremeR said:

The only drugs the "public" needs here is beatiful women and booze, there is no culture of consuming drugs here in the DR. Yet.....

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You say this because you don't know what is going on. Drug consumption in the DR, especially in Santo Domingo is huge, especially among the higher classes, since they have the money to buy the drugs. The drugs aren't just shipped through here, there is also a HUGE consumer market. Huge like the US? No. Is it as open to the concept of experimentation, especially with the college community, yes. For God sakes there are even drug delivery services in SD. Taxis that bring you what you need. Want some coke? Ask your local limpia bota, he will get you what you need. They are micro drug runners. Think about it, if there was a no drug culture would we need Hogar Crea?

Wanna see more drugs? Head down to the Colonial Zone....you'll see some drugs floating around there.

The biggest drug bin in the city is UNIBE. Check it out. Large amounts of high end drugs like Coke, dust and E flow through there easily. It's the "Beverly Hills" syndrome. Rich kids who have the cash to spend on party drugs. And those kids, since they have spent many years in the US or have a connection to American culture, share similar views towards drugs, as their American counterparts.

In the barrios, Crack and marijuana are the biggest sellers. Some of the people you would least expect are sniffing lines here and there and all those "high end' parties that go into the wee hours of the morning? Yeah, they all stay up on Red Bull...riiiiiiiight.

The stigma towards drugs gives the impression that doing drugs are bad, so people hide it. But the reality is, especially with more integration with US/European culture, more travel, American media (which portrays a sympathetic view of drugs and its consumption) and the "financial successes" associated with drugs in this country, many Dominicans are actually less anti-drug than you think. They are concerned as to what their friends will say, even though their friend is a Coke head. So everything stays in the closet. At the very least they are toking a bit behind closed doors.

You think you know, but you have no idea....




Mr. Lu

ExtremeR said:

You really don't know what you are talking about....If somehow the police finds out there is drug in any house, they will raid it, search warrant or not and the owners of the drugs will appear in the newspaper next morning...

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This is absolutely not so in my experience.

Mr. Lu, what I mean to say is that there is not a huge consumer base in the DR to be recognized as a culture, of course we have los hijos de papi y mami who thinks they live in Europe and/or US and pops Extasis like crazy in "los bonches" (electronic music parties held in the beach, usually sponsored by Orange or Claro). I worked in Unibe one time and I know that half of those rich kids at least smoke weed.

To compare our situation with the USA where 95% of the kids in High School have smoked weed and God knows what else (maybe due that is easier to get drugs than to buy alcohol as an underage), is just non fair. If could would take a percentage of how many people do drugs in High Schools and Universities in the DR I would believe the score would be less than 25%. Remember I'm also en "El Medio" and know what is moving in the air.

basically if they could make rice and chicken illegal they would do it to get the extra revenue

......

ExtremeR said:

Mr. Lu, what I mean to say is that there is not a huge consumer base in the DR to be recognized as a culture, of course we have los hijos de papi y mami who thinks they live in Europe and/or US and pops Extasis like crazy in "los bonches" (electronic music parties held in the beach, usually sponsored by Orange or Claro). I worked in Unibe one time and I know that half of those rich kids at least smoke weed.

To compare our situation with the USA where 95% of the kids in High School have smoked weed and God knows what else (maybe due that is easier to get drugs than to buy alcohol as an underage), is just non fair. If could would take a percentage of how many people do drugs in High Schools and Universities in the DR I would believe the score would be less than 25%. Remember I'm also en "El Medio" and know what is moving in the air.

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Eh,

We can argue this back and forth. But I'd rather not. I guess the difference is that in the US its out in the open and therefore its easier to define a "drug culture," while in the DR it's all behind the scenes. I mean when both Bush and Clinton were fingered as drug users and some of "greatest" musicians/artists have highlighted the "benefits" of drug use to their careers then the "cultural" aspect is clear. The tabu is gone in the US, allowing a once "subversive" subject to become a common topic of conversation. I mean "4/20" and pot festivals!

So, I can concede that point.

By the way what "Medio" are you in? I don't like "El Medio," the smell of marijuana and E in the air make me nauseas.


Mr. Lu

Mr. Lu said:

By the way what "Medio" are you in? I don't like "El Medio," the smell of marijuana and E in the air make me nauseas.


Mr. Lu

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The smell of E? you must have a good nose to smell tablets.

ExtremeR said:

there is no culture of consuming drugs here in the DR. Yet.....

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I beg to differ a bit with this point.

In the ghetto barrio I am from and the sorrounding barrios the use of "DEVUELTO" is highly popular. This drug is made up of marijuana and crack. It is smoked, not injected. I know this because I hear my family talking about how the next door neighbor's kid is doing it, with his friends, and the other person and the next. And whever I roll around there (not too often!!!) I get asked for money to buy some "DEVUELTO" by people I grew up with as a kid. In fact, even some of the old timers are doing that $hit. I also hear it is super cheap. Cheaper than cocaine and cheaper than heroin. So I am assuming that is why it is so popular.

Here in Canada, MJ is used fairly openly, to the point where it is hardly considred criminal any more (at least in practice). I think it's a fairly decent stance. In the DR its nice that people aren't so open about drug use, and that its use isn't rampant, however i find the perception of drug users a little harsh. A drug user is seen as someone worth than a thief by many, as if using drugs were the biggest of all evils. And mentions of confiscations of large quantities of MJ (5g!!!) are a little odd. I think there is a mix of why DR is "anti-drug" 1) being that most people don't want anything to do with it, and 2) on the official side, not differentiatign MJ from cocaine, ect. allows officials to blur public perception, arrests for position are no different than arrests for trafficking - this allows police to report a high number of seizures no matter how little the actual seizures may be, showing that they are doing "a lot", while they systematically let the worse perpetratos off the hook or are complicite to their actions. 3) on another level there is the whole extortion/black mail thing - but that is a personal authority issue with cops, not an overlying issue.

....

Conchman said:

The smell of E? you must have a good nose to smell tablets.

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Sarcasm....but people also crush E and snort it....Metaphors.





Mr. Lu

While there might be certain groups where using illegal drugs seems prevalent (rich college kids, deported d-yols, ghetto folks), drug use can't be considered part of mainstream Dominican culture. It's not like Jamaica where the country is synonymous with weed and Bob Marley. The average Dominican seems to think very poorly of drug users of any type or level. Look at what most people think/say about Parque Duarte in Santo Domingo, they would rather bulldoze it down than it have the reputation as a hangout for supposed drug users.

I have personally witnessed, as a result of being in the vicinity by CHANCE, raids in poor rural neighborhoods. In one, people started throwing rocks at the police because they just took everyone that was in the house, and the police responded with tear gas. Glad I wasn't sitting in that patio at the time!

Of course drugs are a huge moneymaker here and available. You can call up a colmado and they deliver them. In every town, people know who the narcos and money-launderers are, even the authorities. But their luck runs out when the bribes aren't enough or the government needs to look tough on drugs, and they too are screwed just like the neighborhood crackhead. I do think that the older generations blow the problem of drug use out of proportion. I can't count how many times I've heard someone say "la droga esta acabando con la juventud". It's not really THAT bad.

To the foreigners: I hate to sound like somebody's mom, but drugs are not something to mess with here. There are enough ways to enjoy yourself in this country and respect its laws and culture at the same time. The money you could potentially lose to bribes or the time you could have to spend in an AI jail or prison are NOT worth it.

One mistake that I think some foreigners make here is to hang out or be panas with dominican drug users or dealers. These people can seem more interesting maybe because they have been to other countries or because you have friends (or you) use back home. Yes, people can associate with whoever they want, but it does have consecuences. When I first moved to the small town where I lived for a while, I spoke a few times in public with what was apparently a known drug dealer and user. This was pointed out to me by several community members and I was advised to not have a relationship with the person. I listened to them. I contined to say 'hey, how's it going', but that's about it. Never took him up on any free rides, offers to go out, etc. I do not regret the decision because it could have affected my image in the community, whether or not people trusted me with their kids, and it could have been seen by some youth as me condoning the behavior.

In some ways it's unfortunate that drug use is so stigmatized, especially to addicts. I have gotten to know some guys from Hogar Crea and a little about their organization, and although they take pride in being self-sufficient (they make some good doughnuts!), it's a shame to see how little the government is concerned about supporting their or similiar intiatives. Also, the Consejo Nacional de Drogas, which is responsible for prevention, does very little. They seem to think that putting on 1 basketball tourney a year in a poor barrio will keep kids off drugs. Right. I'm sure they suffer some of the same "weaknesses" as other government agencies.

In the U.S., I could be considered a liberal, even sympathizing with the movement to legalize marijuana. But here? I couldn't be happier that drugs are viewed so negatively, because the youth have enough issues to deal with in their struggle to have a better future. They don't need drugs on top of everything else. I just don't think drugs should be stigmatized to the point where it affects being able to help addicts in need of treatment.

On the website for the Consejo Nacional de Drogas, there are some studies and statistics about drug use in the DR, including a 2008 national survey of high schoolers:
Consejo Nacional de Drogas | Investigaciones

Good post, Minerva, and thanks for the link. The study you posted shows a very low incidence of drug use or even experimentation, less than 10%, among the students. which is remarkable. That is far less, I think, than you would get in any sort of study in the States.

I have often wondered why the government here does not do public service announcements about Crack.. since really, to my mind it is crack that is really the danger drug. It is the one that has the most addictive qualities, the most capacity for violence, and appears to be the one that dealers are now using to pay the runners.

I did post this on another thread but will post again that I heard from a very well placed source that up to five years ago about 90% of the coke that was transhipped through the island went through Haiti, and 10% through here.. now the figures are reversed.....

And the source also said that up to 20% of the product is being unpacked and remaining here ... in the DR.....

So do not for a moment think that this is a little issue here or that it will not grow.

I know that there are those people who say that there is no hope and this is a losing battle. And there are others who would prefer not to discuss it. But I really think that Dominicans -- and particularly any Dominican New Yorkers who have any knowledge of the South Bronx was like in the 80s at the height of the crack epidemic -- might want to be a little more active on this issue in the barrios.

A little more hysterical.

I'm with Mr. Lu on this one. There is far more going on than people are aware about. A few years back crack being cooked on a street corner near my breadshop (which isn't in a barrio) at 11am. I slowed the car down because I thought it was rice crispies (snap, crackle, pop :cheeky and the lookout came over thinking I was a customer.......time to play dumb gringa & drive on. That particular punto has closed, thank goodness. And the business meetings for middle class business colleagues, held in the private home of a well heeled entrepreneur in another north coast town, where the lines were already cut & waiting on a glass topped table in the lounge, no attempt at covering up. I don't indulge but I did work with addicts in the past so I know what some of this stuff looks like. It could be that people who don't partake might not recognise what is in front of them sometimes.