The past ten years have ushered in radical changes to alcohol and cannabis policies. From the 2012 legalization of cannabis for adult recreational use in Colorado to the pandemic-related changes in home delivery of alcohol, there’s been a seismic shift in the substance misuse landscape and the way prevention professionals must approach their work.

This virtual learning event explored building policy change readiness and the implementation considerations, situating the role of policy within comprehensive prevention efforts. It included a deep dive into alcohol & cannabis policies and explored the fundamentals of policy change and implementation as an environmental intervention.

Learning Objectives:

• Discuss preparing your community to do policy work.

• Identify ways to engage stakeholders and community members in policy change efforts.

• Describe ways to incorporate policy work into community youth development efforts.

Ivy Jones Turner – Is a training and technical assistance specialist with Education Development Center. For over 20 years, Ivy has provided organizational capacity assistance on health promotion and prevention in substance misuse, suicide, violence, injury, and mental health with nonprofit and community-based organizations, state and faith-based agencies, and school districts. Her capacity building skills include program evaluation, training and technical assistance in program design and implementation, organizational development, partnerships/collaborations, and sustainability. Ms. Jones-Turner is a Certified Prevention Specialist and holds an MPA from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

Lauri Solomon -Is a training and technical assistance specialist with Education Development Center.  She is a public health expert and an experienced prevention specialist.  For over 20 years, she has provided training and technical assistance (TA) on topics such as substance misuse, HIV and sexually transmitted infection, and teen pregnancy prevention. She brings expertise in community needs assessments, qualitative and quantitative data analysis, program evaluation, social marketing, parent education, and positive youth development models.