St. Lucia to host regional conference on drug policy for schools

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – The development and implementation of a drug policy for schools will be among matters discussed as health and family life education (HFLE) coordinators and other stakeholders from across the Caribbean Forum (CARIFORUM) meet in St. Lucia later this month.

The Guyana-based CARIFORUM Secretariat said that the January 21-23 meeting is expected to develop the draft Model School Drug policy that 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 policy will guide the countries in the formulation of their national policies, where necessary.

The meeting is organized into a number of plenaries. The first plenary will include 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 on 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 on 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.