Saint Lucia Hosts Conference On Drug Policy For Schools

THE development and implementation of a drug policy for school is among matters being discussed as health and family life education (HFLE) coordinators and other stakeholders from across the Caribbean Forum (CARIFORUM) meet in Saint Lucia.

The Guyana-based CARIFORUM Secretariat says the January 21-23 meeting, which began yesterday, “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.”

According to CARIFORUM, “It is expected that the policy will guide the countries in the formulation of their national policies, where necessary.”

The meeting is organised into a number of plenaries.

The first plenary included 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 look at (among other issues) “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.

According to the Cariforum STATEMENT ANNOUNCING THE MEETING, “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.”

The meeting started yesterday and ends today.