Barbados Man says cocaine use was for ‘research’ and rum theft was ‘glitch’

SOURCE: BARBADOS TODAY- Uriah Wilbur Smith told the District ‘A’ Traffic Court that he was using cocaine as part of research on drug addiction.

“I am a lab rat,” the 31-year-old declared after pleading guilty to possession of apparatus intended for cocaine use and the theft of a bottle of rum from Massy Stores on September 1.

Prosecutor Station Sergeant St Clair Phillips told the court that a security guard in the Warrens branch of the supermarket saw him take a bottle of rum from the shelf and head into the bathroom.

When he emerged, the bottle was no longer visible. He was approached by security and, after questioning, pulled the bottle from the groin area of his pants.

Police were called and, during a search, discovered drug paraphernalia in his possession.

In court, Smith gave an unusual explanation for his behaviour.”

Until you actually know what an addict goes through, how can you help? A lot of therapists do not know what their clients are going through, so I am writing my research paper on this, and in two days, I start my withdrawal and am on to recovery.”
He attributed the theft of the rum to “a glitch in my cerebral cortex.”

Admitting that this was not his first experience with drugs, he further told the court: “I was smoking from 11 after I went to a house party in Sandy Lane. I tried to resist, but there were so much drugs there.

I first had ecstasy/Molly at Club Extreme when I was 14. I had weed for the first time at eight when I was at church.

“Smith’s father, who was present in court, pleaded for his son to be given help, revealing that he had attended Combermere School and earned seven distinctions before cocaine “ruined his life”, and led to him threatening his relatives.

Smith, who has no fixed place of abode, admitted that he had left both his parents’ homes, stating, “Drugs never hurt me like these people. Never once.”

He told the court that he was actively working on returning to university to complete his bachelor’s degree.

Magistrate Alison Burke noted that Smith had no previous convictions and chose to reprimand and discharge him on both offences. However, she ordered him to return to court on October 3.

“I want to see how you are functioning,”she told him.

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