On Thursday, February 27, 2025, elected officials, school administrators, community leaders, law enforcement chiefs, and prevention coalition leaders from New Canaan, Norwalk, Weston, Westport, and Wilton came together at Westport Town Hall for the launch of the new Mid Fairfield Youth Cannabis Prevention Project.
This project, developed by Positive Directions-The Center for Prevention & Counseling, is funded by DMHAS as one of the first 10 pilot grants from the state using cannabis tax revenues. The collaboration across multiple towns in the Greater Norwalk retail market will allow for shared mass media marketing, the development of a regional youth team, and collaboration on environmental scans. The project will also bring together leaders from key stakeholder groups, such as police, schools, and prevention, in regional sector summits.
Community Perspectives
Speakers at the event highlighted the benefits of taking a regional approach to the issue, since residents of all our towns regularly cross borders and are all part of one larger market, and the suburban towns currently have no prevention funding for cannabis. Speakers discussed how the legalization of medical and retail cannabis has fueled the perception among both youth and parents that marijuana is not particularly harmful, even though it is addictive and is particularly risky during adolescence, when it can cause permanent damage to the developing brain. Several panelists mentioned the need to monitor and address the black market. The City of Norwalk shared about the need to be proactive in addressing illicit sales at smoke shops and other locations. Norwalk has been diligent in involving law enforcement, planning and zoning, and the city's ordinance committee in this work, and the lessons learned can benefit the other towns and support the environmental scan work that will be coordinated regionally through this project.
The panelists speaking at the event represented key sectors and all five towns, emphasizing the role of parents, schools and community leaders in prevention efforts. They included:
Jen Tooker, First Selectwoman of Westport;
Superintendent Kevin Smith, Wilton Public Schools;
Officer Chris Kassimis, Norwalk Police Department;
Colleen Prostor, Executive Director, New Canaan CARES;
Rashida Miller, Family & Youth Social Worker, Town of Weston Human Services, and parent representative;
Prevention Director Margaret Watt and Project Manager Francesca Guerrier, Positive Directions.
We are grateful to each speaker for their support of this effort. The audience was left with the powerful message that we are all partners in prevention and we all have a role to play in preventing cannabis use in our youth.
Download handout about the project here:
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