To promote community-wide involvement in drug abuse prevention efforts, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, will host a live virtual town hall meeting Wednesday, Sept. 9, to showcase effective evidence-based drug abuse prevention approaches.
Health, science and justice reporters in particular are encouraged to view the webcast to learn how effective approaches are changing U.S. communities.
The virtual town hall will offer top federal prevention experts a chance to interact with citizens and community representatives who have seen impressive results in their own communities.
This event follows the Sept. 7 release of results from the Community Youth Development Study, the first randomized trial of the model for implementing prevention programs known as Communities That Care (CTC). The study was supported by a research grant from NIDA with co-funding from other NIH Institutes including the National Cancer Institute, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the National Institute of Mental Health; and from the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP), part of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Communities That Care is distributed by CSAP.
The Virtual Town Hall will also let community leaders know how to access details about a host of other effective prevention approaches. The event will originate at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., with dozens of citizens participating via satellite from Maine, where several communities have experienced successful results with CTC.
WHAT: Virtual Town Hall on Drug Abuse Prevention. Learn about the latest science-based approaches to drug abuse prevention, with a focus on the Communities That Care (CTC) System.
WHO: Representing the White House: Mr. R. Gil Kerlikowske, Director of the White House Office of Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)
Representing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Dr. Nora Volkow, Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health (NIDA/NIH)
Ms. Fran Harding, Director of the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (CSAP/SAMHSA)
Representing the Community Youth Development Study: J. David Hawkins, Ph.D.Principal Investigator, Social Development Research Group University of Washington, Seattle
Representing communities that have seen prevention successes: Study participants from five Maine communities (Appleton, Camden, Hope, Lincolnville and Rockport) as well as citizens in the states of Washington and Illinois, will join via satellite to discuss their success with the CTC prevention model.
WHEN: Wednesday, September 9, 2009, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. EST