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Workshop on Substance Abuse Prevention Strategies in Costa Rica

 

San José, July 13, 2021. With the aim of updating members of the Preventive Programs Police on evidence-based prevention strategies, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for Central America and the Caribbean (UNODC ROPAN) delivered the workshop "Substance Abuse Prevention Strategies".

Held on June 29-30 and July 6-7, this training was attended by 35 units of the Police Preventive Programs of the Central American country.

The opening was attended by Marcela Ortiz, Deputy Director of the Costa Rican Institute on Drugs and Melva Ramirez, UNODC Project Coordinator, who noted that June 26 is the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking and that, to commemorate this date, UNODC has launched a campaign whose slogan is 'Share facts on drugs. Save lives'.

"It is important to take into account the most updated data on the science of prevention to strengthen preventive actions aimed at the youth population and the community in general," said Ramirez.

The topics addressed in the update day were: Drug trafficking situation in the Central American and Caribbean region, by Ricardo Gómez Hecht (UNODC ROPAN Project Coordinator); main drugs of consumption in Costa Rica, presented by Dr. Helvettia Alfaro (Institute on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence); risk factors and protective factors to substance use, by Calixta Balmaceda (Consultant in drug demand reduction) and the international principles of UNODC and WHO for the prevention of substance use, presented by Melva Ramirez.