Marshall University tomorrow will kick off a three-part lectures series designed to educate the public on substance use and misuse, and on the importance of focusing on collaborative solutions.
“As we well know, the drug epidemic crosses all socio-economic barriers and does not discriminate,” said Amy Saunders, event coordinator and director of Marshall’s Student Health Education Programs. “Marshall University is committed to working on innovative and evidenced-based solutions to the problem with our community, state and federal partners.”
According to a December 2016 U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, 91 Americans die every day from prescription opioids and heroin overdose. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration estimates there are 22.5 million people in the U.S. affected by substance use disorder.
The Addiction Studies Lecture Series will begin tomorrow with a lecture titled “Your Brain on Drugs: The History and Psychology of Addiction.” Dr. Jonathan Day-Brown and Dr. Chris White of the university’s psychology and history departments, respectively, will present at 6 p.m. in Drinko Library on the university’s Huntington campus.
At 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 4, Kim White from the social work department and Dr. Maggie Stone from sociology will present in Room BE-5 of the Memorial Student Center. The evening’s topic will be “Cracks in the Community: Familial and Individual Approaches to Community Interventions in Substance Abuse.”
The lecture series will conclude with “Working It Out: Exercise and Alternative Treatments on the Road to Recovery from Substance Use” by Dr. Liz Pacioles of health sciences and Dr. Britany Canady of psychology on Tuesday, April 11, at 6 p.m. in the Don Morris Room of the Memorial Student Center.
In addition to this free educational opportunity, a new, interdisciplinary minor on substance abuse will be available to Marshall students beginning this fall. The collaborative and innovative minor is intended to educate students about substance abuse, the War on Drugs and recovery efforts. Chris White has worked with a number of faculty members from various departments to lead efforts on the new minor, which is a collaboration among Marshall’s departments of history, social work, psychology, criminal justice and criminology, health sciences, English, anthropology and sociology, kinesiology and public health.
The Addiction Studies Lecture Series is free and open to the public. For more information about the lecture series or the new Addiction Studies minor, contact Saunders at saunde@marshall.edu.
