Belize National Anti-Drug Strategy - Caribbean Elections

FOREWORDIn every society that grapples with the debilitating effect of illict drugs there is the samecrisis. Though it is played out differently from city to city, the motivation is the same: To livecleaner, saner lives.In <strong>Belize</strong> that hope is expressed through the <strong>National</strong> <strong>Drug</strong> Abuse Control Council, thisdocument, and most encouragingly, the community's will to power. It is out of this community'swellspring of conviction that the Council and this document draw their conviction, because asthe adage goes, if we can dream it, we can become it.And what do we dream? It is not a utopian fantasy of a state without greed ordesperation. It is the vision of a state founded on firm moral ground and steeped in thedetermination to forge a new identity based on the principles of education, awareness, mutuality,collective responsibility and the rule of law and order.This document is an expression of that will. It is the marshal in the forward column ofprogress, where the community, the media, law enforcement personnel, health and rehabilitationprofessionals, and government are advancing irreversibly towards the shared goal of thisrenewed society.I invite you to share in this revolution of rising expectations and increased possibility.This document is an expression of the best wishes of all of us, and it is constantly morphing tomeet the new challenges.Jules Vasquez, Chairman <strong>National</strong> <strong>Drug</strong> Abuse Control CouncilNovember, 1999