Members of the STAND Coalition (formerly the Marion County Opiate Task Force) have united to confront opiate drug abuse, a problem that that they say is an epidemic in Ohio, with their third annual town hall meeting. The program, Understanding Addiction, will be presented by Brad Lander, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist who specializes in addiction treatment. Lander is the clinical director of addiction psychiatry at the Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center.
The meeting, open to the public, is free and set for Tuesday, March 17, 2015 from 6:30 to 8:00 pm at Harding High School cafetorium.
ADAMH Board director Jody Demo-Hodgins notes that the STAND Coalition was formed in July of 2011. This is a partnership of organizations and individuals that seek to attack the issue on a multi-pronged approach.
This year’s program was chosen because Lander addresses how addiction makes fundamental chemical changes to the brains pleasure center and reward circuit. He believes this is a critical piece of understanding addiction and the changes people see in those they love and care for who are addicts.
Lander will address how judgment, impulse control, perception and learning become impaired and how endorphin production stops working – leaving the addict more vulnerable to emotional and physical pain. The substance abuser eventually becomes a different person – one that their friends and family no longer recognize.
Lander will also address how Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) works to help support recovery from addiction.
“Many people in our community never considered the possibility that they or their loved ones would ever become addicts, much less heroin addicts,” Demo-Hodgins stated. “We don’t understand how a bottle of pills stored in a medicine cabinet can be linked by a surprisingly short route to heroin that is purchased from drug dealers.”
As with past Town Hall sessions on addiction, the goal is to provide information and education for attendees.
The STAND Coalition is especially hopeful that parents of middle school and high school students will attend this session,” said Demo-Hodgins. “They report that risk factors for addiction include family history of alcoholism or addiction and early use. Early use of any substance – be it alcohol or marijuana – is an important factor in the development of addiction.”
“Parents have a powerful influence on their children especially when setting expectations for behavior around alcohol and drugs,” said Jodi Galloway, director of Marion-Crawford Prevention Programs. “Making it clear that you expect your child not to use alcohol until they are adults and to never use drugs has been demonstrated by research to be a factor in their abstaining from those substances.”
The program is free and open to the public. Those with questions should call the ADAMH Board at 740-387-8531.
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