Plus: The Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit nears, and an international conference on mental health equity
By Darya Daneshmand
New & Next: Media
A Fentanyl Crisis Toolkit
A coalition of Arizona substance use prevention organizations has responded to the fentanyl crisis with a toolkit designed to help communities deal with the proliferation of the lethal drug. Titled The Rise of Fentanyl: Saving Lives by Moving Communities from Understanding to Action, the toolkit is filled with educational resources. The material is meant to be customized for each community served by the Substance Abuse Coalition Leaders of Arizona, but it has value for any region beyond the state’s borders. Among the elements that are covered:
- Counterfeit pills
- The overdose-reversal drug naloxone
- Youth-resiliency building
- Stigma
- Psychostimulants such as methamphetamine
New & Next: Community
Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit
The Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit is scheduled to take place in Atlanta April 18-21, 2022, featuring professionals from agencies, businesses, academia and healthcare. The Rx Summit is the largest national gathering providing a space for stakeholders to discuss key issues and updates. It was created under the leadership of Operation Unite in 2012 and has hosted Presidents Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. Early-bird rates expire Dec. 3, though registration remains open through the event’s start date. View pricing deadlines and register here.
Taking place alongside the Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit on April 21 in Atlanta, with corresponding registration deadlines, the Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) Summit invites interested and concerned parties to learn more about current research investigating how marijuana normalization has negatively impacted public health and safety. Those who wish to submit presentation proposals must do so by Dec. 15. View the topics and other information and submit proposals to Brendan Fairfield.
Mental Health Equity Conference
The National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) and the NBCC Foundation’s international digital conference, Mental Health Connections: Cultivating Equity, will take place Dec. 8-10, with presentations such as “Spanish Language Translation and Initial Testing of the Attitudes Toward Family Counseling Scale” and “The Role of Career Counseling in Transitioning Economies.” (See the full agenda here.)
Voices from countries including Canada, Mexico, Uganda and Ukraine will be heard, providing a unique scope of cultural and national differences concerning mental health. Attendees can also expect to expand their knowledge of current practices, training and research initiatives. The registration fee is $99. Registrants are given the opportunity to participate in live conference sessions and can watch any missed sessions on demand within two months of the event’s conclusion.
New & Next: Industry
NIH Grant for Brain Mechanisms of Addiction
Binghamton University professor Anushree Karkhanis, PhD, and Drexel University professor Jessica Barson, PhD, recently received a five-year, $2.59 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study the impact of the brain’s neuron populations on addiction.
