Title: ATOD Specific Series
Format: Virtual via Zoom
Date: June 11-13, 2024
Time: 9 am- 4:30 pm CST
Continuing Education Hours: 18 in IC&RC Domain 6: Professional Growth and Responsibility
Price: $450
Registration Link: Click here to register

Schedule

June 11
1) 9:00-12:00               Substance Use Disorder: It’s what we are preventing
2) 1:30-4:30          Opioids: The Making of a Crises

June 12
3) 9:00-12:00              Alcohol: Relaxing, Sedating, Intoxicating
4) 1:30-4:30          Marijuana: The Science and Society

June 13
5) 9:00-12:00             Vaping:  The New Social Phenomenon
6) 1:30-4:30        The Science of Addiction

All virtual workshops are scheduled in Central Time, CST, Use the time zone converter , then enter Texas, Houston

Course Descriptions

June 11
1) Substance Use Disorder: It’s what we are preventing.

This workshop will provide information on the classifications of drugs, there effects on the brain and body, and distinguish between use, misuse, addiction & substance use disorders.
Upon completion of this training the participant will be able to:
1) List the 5 drug classifications
2) Distinguish between use, abuse, addiction and substance use disorder

2) Opioids:  The Making of a Crisis

The opioid epidemic has caught the country off guard, draining resources which were designed to address the problem.  Alarmed federal and state agencies are scrambling to address the problem.  But it is the communities that have borne the brunt of the opioid crisis.  Communities blame the pharmaceutical companies that have, since the 1980s, promoted opioids as a panacea for relieving pain.  This workshop informs participants about the various forms of narcotics and opioids, their prevalence, effects on the physical and psychological well-being of users.  This workshop examines the events that contributed to the crisis, and failed attempts to deal with it.

  • Participants will examine the various forms of narcotics and opioids.
  • Participants will recognize how opioids work on the brain and body.
  • Participants will be able to identify the physical and psychological effects of opioids
  • Participants will examine current data regarding use and opioid deaths and identify events that contributed to the current opioid crisis

June 12
3) Alcohol: Relaxing, Sedating, Intoxicating

Alcohol is one of the most widely used drugs in the world. Even though we know a lot about its effect on the human body and brain our society continues to consume it. During this presentation we will examine alcohol’s effect on the body, define use, misuse and alcohol use disorder (AUD) and perhaps better understand why some individuals should avoid alcohol completely. We will also explore higher risk populations including women, college age & underage youth.

4) Marijuana:  The Science and Society

With the decriminalization and legalization of possession of medicinal and retail marijuana in many jurisdictions, our society’s norms are more tolerant and permissive of its use.  Research is being conducted that is documenting the harmful short term and long term effects on the brain and behavior.  This workshop will discuss the basic structure and development of the human brain, the effects of marijuana on the brain, and the risk of mental illness with early and chronic marijuana use.  Media messages and their influence regarding the normalization of marijuana use will be discussed, as well as issues of the legalization of medical and recreational marijuana.

  • Examine the components of marijuana
  • Examine the history of marijuana use.
  • Learn how marijuana affects the brain and the body.
  • Discuss issues of legal marijuana use.

June 13

5) Vaping:  The New Social Phenomenon

Recent research has found that the use of e-cigarettes among youth surpasses the use of tobacco cigarettes for the first time, and that teens who use e-cigarettes are more likely to initiate the use of combustible tobacco.  Youth are exposed to e-cigarette advertising from multiple sources, including advertising in retail stores, the internet, movies, and newspapers and magazines.  Policies have been enacted by airlines, city governments, the State of Texas, and the FDA regulating the use of e-cigarettes.  This workshop discusses the mechanics of electronic cigarettes, various e-liquids and the comparison of toxicants emitted by smoking combustible tobacco versus e-cigarette aerosol.  Perceived benefits of vaping such as use as an aid to quit smoking, adverse effects of vaping, and risk of fires, explosions and other battery-related malfunctions will be discussed.  Finally, the emergence of electronic cigarettes have given marijuana smokers a new method of inhaling cannabinoids and other types of psychoactive drugs.  The workshop will discuss perceived benefits of vaping over smoking marijuana, and the methods of vaping ground marijuana head tops, cannabis wax (BHO) or cannabis e-liquid.  The new culture of vaping can weaken the efficiency of anti-smoking campaigns.  New technology can attract young people and thwart cannabis prevention efforts.  Prevention specialists must encounter this new social phenomenon with eyes wide open.

  • Participants will be able to identify the benefits and the harms of the use of e-cigarettes, social cost, and implications of use by underage youth.
  • Participants will recognize the implications of the use of electronic cigarettes for illicit and, psychoactive drugs.
  • Participants will become aware of current data regarding use and increase in cigarette use.
  • Participants will become aware of media messages influences regarding the normalization of use of e-cigs.

 

6) The Science of Addiction

More than three decades of research supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse has proven that addiction is a complex brain disease characterized by compulsive, at times uncontrollable, drug craving, seeking, and use that persist despite potentially devastating consequences. Addiction is also a developmental disease; that is, it usually starts in adolescence or even childhood and can last a lifetime if untreated.

Upon completion of this training the participant will be able to:
1) Define Addiction
2) Define the neurotransmitter dopamine and list ways that different drugs impact it

 

Presenters:

Julie Stevens MPS, ACPS, ICPS.           Julie is an Advanced Certified Prevention Specialist and was a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor for 20 years. She has served as Director of Prevention for the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, and Training Specialist for the University of Oklahoma’s Southwest Prevention Center, and most recently as Executive Director of LifeSteps Council on Alcohol and Drugs. She is currently Member At Large of the Board of the International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium. Ms. Stevens serves on the Texas Certification Board of Addiction Professionals and is chair of the Prevention Subcommittee. She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Baylor University and a Masters of Prevention Science from the University of Oklahoma. In addition, Ms. Stevens is an adjunct professor for the University Of Oklahoma College Of Liberal Studies.

Mitchell Moore BAT, LCDC, ACPS, ADC.            Mitchell is a dynamic educator who has a passion for training people and serves those who serve by designing and delivering training and across America. He is an advanced certified prevention specialist and licensed chemical dependency counselor who has extensive experience working with youth and families in both prevention and recovery settings. He has served as a counselor, prevention specialist and executive director of a charitable organization. In 2019, he was awarded the Texas Prevention Specialist of the Year.