A LOSING BATTLE

INDEPENDENT Senator Michael de la Bastide has warned that raising the legal drinking age from 18 to 21 could divert scarce police resources from fighting murders, rapes and other serious crimes while driving drinking among young adults underground.

And, in an apparent shot at Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s recent criticism of Independent senators as “satanic”, de la Bastide declared that his arguments against the measure were not the “devilish creation” of an Independent senator.

Contributing to debate on The Miscellaneous Provisions (Alcohol, Cannabis, Dangerous Drugs, Gambling and Tobacco) Bill, 2026 in the Senate yesterday, de la Bastide questioned whether criminalising alcohol consumption among 18 to 20-year-olds would achieve the Government’s stated objective of protecting young people.