Draft Model School Drug policy to be developed

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Guyana)     The development and implementation of a Drug Policy for school moves forward, as Health and Family Life Education (HFLE) Coordinators and other stakeholders from across the Caribbean Forum (CARIFORUM) meet on 21-23 January 2019, in Saint Lucia.

The expected outcome of the three-day meeting is a draft Model School Drug policy. The draft policy will be subsequently reviewed and validated by Member States before submission to the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) for endorsement. It is expected that the Model Policy will guide Member States in the formulation of their national policies, where necessary.

The meeting is organised into a number of plenaries. Setting the context in the first plenary will be presentations of the Report on Students’ Drug Use in 13 Caribbean Countries (2016) and the Implications of Marijuana Use on Adolescent Development.

The second plenary, Management of School Drug Use in the Caribbean will, among other issues, look at the challenges and windows of opportunities associated with the management of drug use in schools from the perspectives of different countries. A review  of Grenada’s  National School Drug Policy (2018-2023), will also be done.

The third and fourth plenaries: Crafting the Model School Drug Policy and Creating an Enabling Environment to support School Drug Policy, will respectively examine the components for excellence in learning in the Caribbean new school model. Legislation and the  School Drug Policy and the way forward will also be central features of these plenaries.

The sessions are interactive and will be moderated by regional and international specialists in the various fields.

The meeting opens with a brief session at 0:900, at the Auberge Seraphine Hotel, Castries, to which the media are invited.  Remarks will be given by representatives of the CARICOM Secretariat, European Union and the Government of St. Lucia.

About CARIFORUM
The Caribbean Forum (CARIFORUM) is a sub-group of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States and serves as a base for political and economic dialogue with the European Union. It was established in 1992. Its membership comprises the fifteen CARICOM States and the Dominican Republic.

The Tenth EDF Crime and Security Programme
The Caribbean is a critical and central route between drug producers and large scale consumers and violence and crime remain a pressing problem. The Caribbean Community Strategic Plan, indicates that Citizen Security remains a priority for the Community, and in this context CARIFORUM.

The 10^th EDF CARIFORUM focuses on three main thematic areas. These are: reducing the demand for and dependence on illicit drugs; advancing the thrust towards Drug Supply Control Initiatives with enhanced coordination and dialogue with Latin America, and addressing some of the critical factors for Crime and Violence Prevention and Social Development.