Consultant Psychiatrist Dr Nadia Wallace is calling on Dominica and the wider Caribbean to consider raising the legal age for alcohol and marijuana use, warning that early exposure to these substances poses serious risks to young people's mental health and development.
Dr Wallace, who works at the Acute Psychiatric Unit (APU) of the Dominica-China Friendship Hospital (DCFH), made the call as part of a broader appeal for regional action on youth substance use. She said the legal age for both alcohol and marijuana should be raised, arguing that current thresholds leave adolescents vulnerable at a critical stage of brain development.
The psychiatrist's intervention comes amid ongoing debate across the Caribbean about the regulation of marijuana, with several countries having moved to decriminalise or legalise the drug for medical and, in some cases, recreational use. In Dominica, the government has pursued a medicinal cannabis industry, while public discussion continues over how best to protect young people from harm.
Dr Wallace's call extends beyond Dominica's shores. She urged the wider Caribbean to examine the legal age for marijuana and alcohol use among young people, suggesting that a regional approach would be more effective than isolated national measures. Her remarks add a medical voice to a policy conversation that has largely been driven by economic and legal considerations.
Mental health professionals have long warned that early and heavy use of alcohol and marijuana can interfere with brain development, increase the risk of dependence, and worsen outcomes for young people already facing social and economic pressures. In small island states, where treatment services are limited, the consequences can be particularly acute.
The Acute Psychiatric Unit at the Dominica-China Friendship Hospital is the main facility for psychiatric care in Dominica. As a consultant psychiatrist there, Dr Wallace sees first-hand the effects of substance use on patients and their families, giving her appeal a practical grounding in the realities of the island's health system.
Her call is likely to feed into wider discussions among health officials, policymakers and community leaders about how Dominica regulates alcohol and marijuana, and how it communicates the risks to young people. Any change to the legal age would require legislative action in the House of Assembly.
For now, Dr Wallace's message is clear: raising the legal age for drinking and smoking marijuana should be seriously considered, both in Dominica and across the Caribbean, as a measure to protect the region's youth.
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