A Global and Local Conversation on Drug Policy, Children, and the Next Generation

On September 18, the Yale School of Public Health and Cultivating Conversation at Yale welcomed global leaders, public health experts, city officials, students, and young people to Yale’s Battell Chapel for “A Global and Local Conversation on Drug Policy, Children, and the Next Generation”.

Participants were greeted by Dr. Megan L. Ranney, MD, MPH, dean of the Yale School of Public Health, who reflected on the importance of connecting science with society and translating evidence into policies that improve the health of communities. New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker formally opened the conversation, bringing a local perspective to the topic and underscoring the importance of addressing the impact of drug policy on young people and families.

The panel featured Helen Clark, former prime minister of New Zealand and chair of the Global Commission on Drug Policy; Ernesto Zedillo, former president of Mexico, commissioner on the Global Commission on Drug Policy, and director of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization; Dr. Rahul Gupta, MD former director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy; and Sefora Clemente, youth representative on the New Haven Youth Commission.

The discussion was moderated by Ahsan Ahmad, MPH ’26, scientific manager at the Yale Center for Infection and Immunity, advisor to the Global Commission on Drug Policy, and commissioner-elect for the New Haven Youth Commission.

The meeting at Yale marked the launch of the Global Commission on Drug Policy’s new policy brief, Making Children and Young People Visible in Drug Policy: A Child Rights-Based Agenda for Reform, ahead of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. The report called for greater attention to how drug policies affect children and young people and emphasizes public health, evidence, human rights, and meaningful youth participation.

The discussion culminated in a tangible commitment for New Haven. Elicker expressed his support for the New Haven Youth Commission’s new subcommittee on health, ethics, and human rights, which will work to localize the Global Commission’s recommendations and consider how they can inform best practices for youth in New Haven.

“Drug policies have too often overlooked the ways in which children and young people are affected,” Clark said. “This conversation at Yale was an important opportunity to bring global evidence together with the experience of young people and communities in New Haven. I particularly welcome Mayor Elicker’s support for taking this work forward through the New Haven Youth Commission locally and for ensuring that young people themselves have a meaningful role in shaping the policies that affect their lives.”

This program was co-sponsored by the Yale School of Public Health, Cultivating Conversation at Yale, Yale Program in Addiction Medicine at the Yale School of Medicine, and the Global Participatory Research and Ethics Program at the MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale. The program was in partnership with the Global Commission on Drug Policy and the New Haven Youth Commission.