Drugs

They have the same problems as Any Town, USA.

Maybe I just turn in the wrong circles, but, in my nine years here, I've never come across Meth...or heroin, though I know some people that were heroin addicts, so I guess it can be found. If I were asked, I'd reply by saying that pot, coke and crack are the biggest 'drug problems' that are related to crime...and pot isn't very high on that list....

Thanks. Meth is the big thing around here, and I would love to move to a place where it isn't a problem.

Stateside teenagers down on the islands have problems with alcohol and pot usually - use of both of these is very widespread among the younger set. (and a lot of the older folks too.)

Biggest crime related to drugs are the drugs. Pot is incrediblely easy to get down here. I grew up in a border town and it was easy to get there but this is ridiculous. Its everywhere. So many of the adults do it, why should the kids see it as a bad thing?

I didn't mean to offend anyone. Stateside definitely has it's problems, but drugs have different geographic areas, for example, methamphetamines are very, very big in Montana, Wyoming and Colorado, and trafficking is a bigger problem in cities with ports and where highways intersect, such as Miami and parts of New York State. I'm just trying to figure out what we're up against is all : )

are there many aa meetings on stx?

Okay, this is my take on drugs on St Croix:

Meth is not on this island. Probably because of the specified ingredients that are pretty common in mainland/farmland US--like ammonia and cold medicines. Likewise, drugs predominately produced in the mainland--ecstasy, LSD, peyote...stuff like that is rare and difficult to find. Importation from the mainland and/or Mexico is unlikely.

That said, importation from Central and South America is more common, hence, there is a lot of cocaine and crack on the island. And like Marty said, heroin is also not that big. But with these drugs, unless you are actively searching for it, or in a group of people likely to use it (cocaine for the heavy heavy partiers etc...just like the states) then it can be found. Crack is a problem for the street people...many walking around C'sted, F'sted, side of Centerline, washing cars, muttering, smelling bad, begging for a dollar etc...it is the crack they are on. But again, if you are not into a heavy party scene, you will not encounter it. The trafficking, according to some police buddies of mine is going on...we are a stepping stone to the US. But it is not obvious and does not affect the general populace. There was an interesting documentary on the FBI files about the "Island Boys" ring back in the 90's that had a huge coke smuggling thing going on from here to Atlanta but they were busted. There was also a recent trial for several people involved in another ring but it ended in a hung jury. The story is in the VI daily news online if you do a search for it. It is not obvious, and whoever does it probably tries to keep it as much of it under wraps as possible and not attract attention. Hence, there is not a lot of crime on the general populace directly related to the act of trafficking itself. Most of the drug crime I assume is dealer on dealer or customer or something of that nature.

Pot is a different story. It is everywhere. There are many users of it. There are many serious Rastafarians on the island (on not so serious too) and that is part of culture. Many barely consider it illegal. But in other countries, it is legal. So, it depends on what side of the debate you are on. Is pot more damaging than alcohol? Cigarettes? or is it less or even equal? The bottom line though--it is around, but if you chose not to use, then you won't. I grew up on this island--yes, I was a teenager, and personally, did not feel peer pressured into anything. If you don't smoke, people respect that. Of course there is peer-pressure...as there is EVERYWHERE...it really depends on the kid. I have friends who smoke pot, I have friends that don't--then and now as adults.

Legal drinking age is 18. So many drink early on-15, 16, 17 and bartenders do not tend to card. But since there is less of a taboo because of the lower drinking age, I believe there is a healthier drinking culture of young people. ..it is not so much of a forbidden fruit. Yes, there are many teenagers that drink. But there are just as many teenagers drinking in the mainland. Except that here, they can walk into a bar, order a rum and coke and drink like an adult if that makes any sense. When I was in the mainland a few times as a teenager, what I saw was people taking turns to drink secretly out of a vodka/whiskey bottle which is bizarre. That to me is far more dangerous form of drinking than ordering at a bar...

That is my perspective as someone who grew up here and lived it.

Is pot just randomly offered on the streets? I read that it is pretty easy to get.

Sara, nobody has ever offered me any but it seems to be common.

Michael, there are AA meetings every day on STX.

Point your browser to www.aavirginislands.org for a complete list and directions to meetings

~Friend of Bill's

I been on the island on and off for over 16 weeks in 5 trips. Have never been approached with any offers. Was not looking for any.

Sara,
When i go out with my girlfriends some idiot usually offers to sell us something. When I'm out with my husband they generally leave us alone. It is extremely easy to get pot and not much harder to get coke.

I think that being actively offered weed without prompt is uncommon. Many police hang out in the bars too and not in uniform. Maybe the "idiot" Betty describes is trying to impress the girls and is using weed as a pick up line? Or is to high/drunk, out of control? I can't understand why anyone would actively approach someone they do not know and offer to actually make a deal to sell the weed. There are many US Marshals down here as well as off-duty police. Seems a little risky...There's also enough of a market of locals w/o soliciting...

Cruzan my husband is a federal agent and I hate to break it to you but if there are marshals down there they are off duty and having a drink. Marshals are mainly for transporting criminals not for drugs. Although they can arrest anyone for violating a federal crime. I rarely see police downtown at nite unless its jump up or something like that. I don't see how its risky for them at all. I worked downtown for several years and saw people selling stuff in broad daylight. Stopping traffic even to make the deal. After all selling a small portion of pot is only a misdemeanor. And what are all these off duty police doing downtown? Selling? 😉

I guess the places I have been happen to have a few marshals that hang out there when they are down. Two of them I know come down for months at a time.

Are we talking about Frederiksted or Christiansted in terms of police presence. In F'sted, late at night and in the wee hours of the morning (I have even gotten rides home from them occasionaly) there is a constant police presence--a couple of squad cars driving down the main street and other streets. I also know several cops who do hang out socially off duty (isn't a policeman allowed to have a few drinks in F'sted after work? 🙂 ). Everyone knows who they are and NO ONE is going to sell or smoke weed in front of them, off or on duty. People are generally discreet in that way.

Yep the marshals are detailed a month at a time. There are no permanent ones here.

Talking about C'sted. I would go to F'sted with my husband and often do as I love st tropez and he loves lost dog. But I would not feel safe there with just my girlfriends at night.

www.aavirginislands.org

I think that alcohol is a significant 'drug problem' on st X - when I was there, there was a high% of the population who were 'functional alcoholics'.
These people were not in AA or addressing the situation, but were taking on board enough alcohol on a regular basis to definitely meet the medical criteria of alcoholism. The "white" business community was also hit hard by this problem - their drinks just came in glasses rather than a bottle in a brown paper sack.
The social life of StX was conducted mostly in bars and restaurants, but plenty of drinking took place on private decks and boats etc. A lot of my daughter's friends were just following in their parent's footsteps in the alcohol (and recreational drug) use.