{"id":247707,"date":"2025-08-26T13:56:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T17:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=247707"},"modified":"2025-08-26T13:56:01","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T17:56:01","slug":"antigua-and-barbuda-urged-to-confront-new-drug-threats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/antigua-and-barbuda-urged-to-confront-new-drug-threats\/","title":{"rendered":"Antigua and Barbuda urged to confront new drug threats"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a><\/div>
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n
\n\n\n\n

Antigua and Barbuda urged to confront new drug threats<\/strong><\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Attorney General Sir Steadroy Benjamin has warned that Antigua and Barbuda cannot \u201cbury our heads in the sand like an ostrich\u201d when it comes to tackling emerging narcotics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking at the opening of a regional training workshop, he said the country\u2019s reputation as a tourism destination built on \u201csun, sand, sea, safety and security\u201d depended on taking drug threats seriously.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The three-day event is focused on strengthening Antigua and Barbuda\u2019s Early Warning System, launched in 2021 to track and respond to new psychoactive substances. Supported by the Organisation of American States and funded by the Government of Italy, the programme brings together experts from Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Jamaica and St Lucia.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Training sessions will cover closer inter-agency coordination, the role of forensic laboratories, and equipping law enforcement with tools to detect synthetic drugs and opioids before they spread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The initiative comes amid mounting global concern. Across North America, opioids such as fentanyl have fuelled a deadly crisis, while in Argentina last year 24 people died after consuming cocaine mixed with carfentanyl.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Officials say the workshop forms part of a broader Caribbean drive to strengthen drug monitoring systems and ensure the region is not blindsided by the next wave of narcotics threats.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Antigua and Barbuda urged to confront new drug threats Attorney General Sir Steadroy Benjamin has warned that Antigua and Barbuda cannot \u201cbury our heads in the sand like an ostrich\u201d when it comes to tackling emerging narcotics. Speaking at the opening of a regional training workshop, he said the country\u2019s reputation as a tourism destination […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":216998,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-247707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nAntigua and Barbuda urged to confront new drug threats - Antigua News Room<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/antigua-and-barbuda-urged-to-confront-new-drug-threats\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Antigua and Barbuda urged to confront new drug threats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Antigua and Barbuda urged to confront new drug threats Attorney General Sir Steadroy Benjamin has warned that Antigua and Barbuda cannot \u201cbury our heads in the sand like an ostrich\u201d when it comes to tackling emerging narcotics. Speaking at the opening of a regional training workshop, he said the country\u2019s reputation as a tourism destination […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/antigua-and-barbuda-urged-to-confront-new-drug-threats\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Antigua News Room\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/antiguanewsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-26T17:56:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-26T17:56:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/IMG_1247.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1095\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"718\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Editor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AntiguaNewsRoom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AntiguaNewsRoom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Editor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/antigua-and-barbuda-urged-to-confront-new-drug-threats\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/antigua-and-barbuda-urged-to-confront-new-drug-threats\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Editor\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/36cac05ef6398fe56ae3e6317f8535c5\"},\"headline\":\"Antigua and Barbuda urged to confront new drug threats\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-26T17:56:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-26T17:56:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/antigua-and-barbuda-urged-to-confront-new-drug-threats\/\"},\"wordCount\":220,\"commentCount\":7,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/antigua-and-barbuda-urged-to-confront-new-drug-threats\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1095\/h:718\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/IMG_1247.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/antigua-and-barbuda-urged-to-confront-new-drug-threats\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/antigua-and-barbuda-urged-to-confront-new-drug-threats\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/antigua-and-barbuda-urged-to-confront-new-drug-threats\/\",\"name\":\"Antigua and Barbuda urged to confront new drug threats - Antigua News Room\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/antigua-and-barbuda-urged-to-confront-new-drug-threats\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/antigua-and-barbuda-urged-to-confront-new-drug-threats\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1095\/h:718\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/IMG_1247.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-26T17:56:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-26T17:56:01+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/antigua-and-barbuda-urged-to-confront-new-drug-threats\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/antigua-and-barbuda-urged-to-confront-new-drug-threats\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/antigua-and-barbuda-urged-to-confront-new-drug-threats\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1095\/h:718\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/IMG_1247.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1095\/h:718\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/IMG_1247.jpg\",\"width\":1095,\"height\":718,\"caption\":\"Benjamin\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/antigua-and-barbuda-urged-to-confront-new-drug-threats\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Antigua and Barbuda urged to confront new drug threats\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/\",\"name\":\"Antigua News Room\",\"description\":\"News As It Happens\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Antigua Newsroom\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1080\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_1584.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1080\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_1584.jpeg\",\"width\":1260,\"height\":1260,\"caption\":\"Antigua Newsroom\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/antiguanewsroom\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/AntiguaNewsRoom\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/antiguanewsroom\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/36cac05ef6398fe56ae3e6317f8535c5\",\"name\":\"Editor\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=96\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=96\",\"caption\":\"Editor\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/author\/editor\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Antigua and Barbuda urged to confront new drug threats - Antigua News Room","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/antigua-and-barbuda-urged-to-confront-new-drug-threats\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Antigua and Barbuda urged to confront new drug threats","og_description":"Antigua and Barbuda urged to confront new drug threats Attorney General Sir Steadroy Benjamin has warned that Antigua and Barbuda cannot \u201cbury our heads in the sand like an ostrich\u201d when it comes to tackling emerging narcotics. Speaking at the opening of a regional training workshop, he said the country\u2019s reputation as a tourism destination […]","og_url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/antigua-and-barbuda-urged-to-confront-new-drug-threats\/","og_site_name":"Antigua News Room","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/antiguanewsroom","article_published_time":"2025-08-26T17:56:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-08-26T17:56:01+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1095,"height":718,"url":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/IMG_1247.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Editor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@AntiguaNewsRoom","twitter_site":"@AntiguaNewsRoom","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Editor","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/antigua-and-barbuda-urged-to-confront-new-drug-threats\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/antigua-and-barbuda-urged-to-confront-new-drug-threats\/"},"author":{"name":"Editor","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/36cac05ef6398fe56ae3e6317f8535c5"},"headline":"Antigua and Barbuda urged to confront new drug threats","datePublished":"2025-08-26T17:56:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-26T17:56:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/antigua-and-barbuda-urged-to-confront-new-drug-threats\/"},"wordCount":220,"commentCount":7,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/antigua-and-barbuda-urged-to-confront-new-drug-threats\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1095\/h:718\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/IMG_1247.jpg","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/antigua-and-barbuda-urged-to-confront-new-drug-threats\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/antigua-and-barbuda-urged-to-confront-new-drug-threats\/","url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/antigua-and-barbuda-urged-to-confront-new-drug-threats\/","name":"Antigua and Barbuda urged to confront new drug threats - Antigua News Room","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/antigua-and-barbuda-urged-to-confront-new-drug-threats\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/antigua-and-barbuda-urged-to-confront-new-drug-threats\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1095\/h:718\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/IMG_1247.jpg","datePublished":"2025-08-26T17:56:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-26T17:56:01+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/antigua-and-barbuda-urged-to-confront-new-drug-threats\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/antigua-and-barbuda-urged-to-confront-new-drug-threats\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/antigua-and-barbuda-urged-to-confront-new-drug-threats\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1095\/h:718\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/IMG_1247.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1095\/h:718\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/IMG_1247.jpg","width":1095,"height":718,"caption":"Benjamin"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/antigua-and-barbuda-urged-to-confront-new-drug-threats\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Antigua and Barbuda urged to confront new drug threats"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/","name":"Antigua News Room","description":"News As It Happens","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization","name":"Antigua Newsroom","url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1080\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_1584.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1080\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_1584.jpeg","width":1260,"height":1260,"caption":"Antigua Newsroom"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/antiguanewsroom","https:\/\/x.com\/AntiguaNewsRoom","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/antiguanewsroom\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/36cac05ef6398fe56ae3e6317f8535c5","name":"Editor","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=96","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=96","caption":"Editor"},"url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/author\/editor\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247707"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247707\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":247708,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247707\/revisions\/247708"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/media\/216998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}