Mid-Fairfield Youth Cannabis Prevention Project

About the project.

Know the risks of underage cannabis use | Conozca los riesgos del consumo de cannabis por menores

The Mid-Fairfield Youth Cannabis Prevention Project is a recent collaboration among the towns of New Canaan, Norwalk, Weston, Westport, and Wilton, developed & led by Positive Directions and funded through a grant from DMHAS administered via Catalyst CT | The Hub. From 2024-2026, the project focused on building capacity and collaboration across towns, with a focus on five sectors: prevention, local government, law enforcement, schools, and youth.

Project work included:

• Organizing a Law Enforcement Sector Summit with Attorney General William Tong and DMHAS.
• Providing cannabis professional development to teachers from all five towns at the Schools Summit.
• Conducting a landscape analysis at smoke shops in all five towns.
• Developing a Regional Youth Team to provide peer education and awareness in local high schools.
• Disseminating awareness messages and distributing cannabis lockbags throughout the region.
• Organizing a Regional Speaker Series with local experts sharing different information and perspectives to parents. (Watch recordings below!)
• Holding a Local Government Summit to identify ways to make the cross-town work sustainable.