Local Partnerships Unite to Host Kankakee Community Summit on “Marijuana, Youth, & Our Community”

/ Events, Press Release / By

NEW REGISTRATION DEADLINE: April 9th

To register, email your name, job title, and organization to [email protected].

Thanks to the partnership of 16 local organizations and community groups, a free public summit addressing, “Marijuana, Youth, & Our Community”.

The seven panelists who will be featured at this event all come from unique fields of influence surrounding the topic of public health. Those presenting include:

  • Thomas Clarke, Ph.D., Director of National Mental Health & Substance Use Policy Lab, U.S. Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Washington D.C.
  • Dana Stevens, Director of Local Affairs, SAM: Smart Approaches to Marijuana, California
  • Robert Moore, Chairman of Criminal Justice Committee for the State of Illinois NAACP Branches, Illinois
  • Karen Randall, MD, Vice President of Case Management, Southern Colorado Emergency Medical Associates (SCEMA), Colorado
  • Sheriff Justin Smith, Larimer County Sheriff’s Office, Colorado

The guest speakers will share lessons learned in Colorado, California, and Washington D.C. The impact of youth drug use, social justice, and financial impact will be highlighted. Elected officials and community members are invited to come and hear from State’s Attorney Jim Rowe, Coroner Robert Gessner, KAMEG Director Chris Koerner, and local high school students on the potential impact of marijuana on the Kankakee community.

Partners who have made this event possible include Student leaders from the Pledge for Life Partnership Youth Advisory Council, Kankakee County Branch NAACP Youth Council, and Kankakee County Hispanic Partnership, Kankakee County State’s Attorney’s Youth Advisory Board, KCC, and Olivet Nazarene University, in collaboration with the Pledge for Life Partnership, the Life Education Center, the 21st Judicial Circuit Family Violence Coordinating Council, I-KAN Regional Office of Education, Kankakee County State’s Attorney Jim Rowe, Kankakee County Health Department, KAMEG, Kankakee Community College, Kankakee County Coroner Robert Gessner, and Illinois Humanities.

The event will be free with light refreshments provided. 1.5 CEUs and CPDUs and Nursing CEs will be provided by KCC. (For more information, please feel free to reach out to: Ms. Carole Franke at: [email protected].)