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Fourth Annual 21st Century Drug & Violence Prevention Training Conference

Release Date: March 05, 2019
The conference is for all law enforcement, school superintendents, principals and teachers, as well as community and government leaders.

Fourth Annual 21st Century Drug & Violence Prevention Training Conference and Marijuana = Cannabis Summit, Hosted By L.E.A.D.

Sussex County Municipal Alliance Coordinator Nick Loizzi (r) with L.E.A.D. Executive Director Nick DeMauro
Sussex County Municipal Alliance Coordinator Nick Loizzi (r) with L.E.A.D. Executive Director Nick DeMauro

The Fourth Annual 21st Century Drug & Violence Prevention Training Conference, hosted by L.E.A.D. will be held on March 17 through 19, 2019 at Harrah's Convention Center in Atlantic City. L.E.A.D.'s efforts have been expanded to reach classrooms in 17 states across the U.S. and Montreal, Canada. L.E.A.D. utilizes the Mendez Foundation's Too Good for Drugs program, an evidence-based curriculum for kindergarten through 12th grades. In Sussex County, the L.E.A.D. program has been introduced in schools which formerly conducted the D.A.R.E. program. The Sussex County Municipal Alliance assists many of these programs with funding through local municipal alliances. The Sussex County Sheriff's Department, Andover, Byram, Hardyston, Ogdensburg, Stanhope, and Newton Police Departments have several certified L.E.A.D. Officers. Nick Loizzi, Sussex County's Municipal Alliance Coordinator and Alcohol and Drug Abuse Coordinator, serves on the Government Advisory Board. The conference is for all law enforcement, school superintendents, principals and teachers, as well as community and government leaders. Training sessions for L.E.A.D. instructors will be conducted. It is also designed for all attendees to take an educated look at the issues, concerns, response to and effects of the legalization of recreational marijuana.

On Monday, March 18th, the focus will be mainly on violence with an emphasis on recent mass shooting events and the response of law enforcement and school administration. There will also be a presentation on recognizing early warning signs and how tragedies have occurred when these were ignored.

On Tuesday, March 19th, the Marijuana = Cannabis Summit will take place. The summit is being sponsored by Eaze, a member of the Cannabis Industry whose focus is to ensure that questions and concerns of law enforcement and the community at large are addressed. There will be an overview of the current attitudes toward drugs in society and an overview of the opioid abuse epidemic and the effects of marijuana legalization. This will be followed by a presentation by representatives from the NJ Cannabis Industry Association, the NJ CannaBusiness Association and Eaze who will review the functions of the Cannabis Industry.

In the afternoon, two police chiefs, one from New Jersey and one from Massachusetts will address how legalization will affect the communities in which it is permitted. This will be followed by a panel discussion by all of the day's presenters and members of the media. Mr. Loizzi will participate on the panel as the President of the New Jersey Association of County Alliance Coordinators. He will be discussing the need for prevention activities in preparation for a response to the impact of marijuana legalization.

If you would like more information about L.E.A.D. or would like to attend the conference, please visit its website at https://leadrugs.org/ external link.


A message from the Department of Health & Human Services, Division of Community and Youth Services, One Spring Street, Newton, N.J. 07860 Office Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Phone 973-940-5200 Fax 862-268-8013 communityservices@sussex.nj.us.