PASTOR and social advocate Clive Dottin has strongly endorsed the proposal by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to raise the legal age for marijuana use and gambling to 25 and alcohol to 21. He called the initiative “bold and courageous” but stressed enforcement will be critical.

“I say, praise God, HALLELUJAH! This is a bold, courageous move. Imagine these drug-dealing vampires invading our schools and communities, recruiting young people into gambling and prostitution dens,” Dottin said in a WhatsApp exchange on July 9.

Persad-Bissessar made the announcement during a United National Congress (UNC) public meeting in Penal on July 7, where she said her government is committed to tackling the growing crisis of substance and behavioural addiction among youth.