The team members are Department of Public Health’s Community Guidance Center Director Josephine Sablan, prevention services manager Reyna M. Saures, lesbian., gay, bisexual and transsexual representative Michael Manglona, domestic violence investigator and women representative Andrea Ozawa and Department of Corrections Commissioner Lino Tenorio.
Their team leader will be Public Health Secretary Joseph Kevin Villagomez.
The U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which will host the summit, will pay for the CNMI team’s lodgings and per diem.
Titled “Methamphetamine: The National Summit to Promote Public Health, Partnerships, and Safety for Critically Affected Populations,” the summit will bring the states and territories together on Nov. 16-19 at the Hilton Washington to discuss the reduction of illegal activities related to methamphetamine production and distribution.
It will address the need for a national platform to discuss “the compelling and multi-dimensional affects of methamphetamine on the critical populations — justice-involved individuals, LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) and women.”
The CNMI was selected to participate in the summit which will be the first one to be held for tribal, state, territorial and community level professionals.
The participating teams are expected to develop an action plan to reduce the availability of methamphetamine in their jurisdictions.
Rep. Ralph DLG. Torres, R-Saipan and chairman of the House Committee of Health, Education and Welfare, said in an interview that as soon as the team returns from the summit, he will meet with them and discuss ideas that can be included in a draft bill.
The federal partners for this event are the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Office of Minority Health, the Office on Women’s Abuse, the Indian Health Service, the National Institute on Drug Abuse and several components of the U.S. Department of Justice.
