The Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD), an agency of the Organization of American States, and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat are convening a two-phase meeting of Caribbean national drug observatories, which measure and analyse information on drug use, drug prevention policy makers from the region, and drug demand reduction practitioners who work directly with populations at risk. Themed “From Research to Policy to Practice,” the meeting takes place in St George’s, Grenada, September 10-4, 2007. The meeting’s first phase takes place on September 10-12 and brings together researchers and policy makers to discuss how research findings on drug use can be put to practical use in order to develop sound public policies that discourage drug use. This phase of the meeting will also receive and discuss findings on drug use and related issues derived from national studies in the Caribbean undertaken or supported by CICAD and other institutions. CICAD’s Inter-American Observatory on Drugs (OID) will present the preliminary results of a comparative analysis of drug use among secondary school students in 12 countries in the region. The second phase, in a workshop format, will focus on strengthening the capacities of drug demand reduction practitioners to carry out effective drug prevention programs. This phase of the meeting will take place on the last two days. The main objectives of the meeting and the workshop are to present and discuss the findings of recent drug use studies, sensitize those who work in drug prevention and treatment policy to the need to use research-based evidence for the development of sound demand reduction programs, and strengthen the capacity of drug demand reduction practitioners in the field to implement programs for special populations. Participants from all Caribbean OAS Member States, as well as CARICOM member and associate member states, have been invited to attend. They include research officers, community or school drug use prevention officers, and directors of national drug councils. Reprinted from Caribbean Net News caribbeannetnews.com