Use your brain to get to the heart of substance abuse prevention at CADCA’s 26th National Leadership Forum Feb. 1-4 and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s 12^º Annual Prevention Day.

CADCA will offer more than 75 training sessions to address all aspects of prevention.  Notable this year will be sessions addressing the science behind prevention, addiction and treatment.

Dr. Mark S. Gold, Chairman, Scientific Advisory Boards, RiverMend Health, will facilitate a session on “Neuroscience of Addiction for Novices:  How Advances in Neuroscience Have Changed What We Know About Prevention, Treatment and Recovery,” at the Forum.

Using neuroscience to understand the critical role of prevention and the treatment of substance use disorders has been a major focus of Gold’s career. This training session will offer an engaging primer on the neuroscience of addiction to all substances of abuse, by providing an overview of lessons learned from 40 years of advances in neuroscience research.

“I will highlight the major drugs of abuse and highlight areas of controversy. I think that we can all count on the science that supports the dangers of cigarette smoke, cocaine, heroin, pain medication abuse, cannabis smoking and so-on,” Gold said.

Gold is a world-renowned substance abuse researcher, prevention and treatment expert who has trained nearly 80 physicians in addiction medicine and psychiatry. He is best known for his research leading to new understanding for how cocaine, opiates and more recently, food activates and changes the brain. Gold has changed the way scientists and the public understand the effects of drugs on the brain and the need to prevent first use.

He was recently recognized for his Lifetime Achievements in Addiction Medicine, 40 years of research helping to develop models for understanding the effects of tobacco, cocaine, alcohol, and other drugs by the American Society of Addiction Medicine at their national meeting with the 2015 John McGovern Award and Prize. He is currently an Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry, at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Mo.

“I think attendees will be able to get the reinforcement needed for their community prevention messages,” Gold said. “Prevention is the only 100 percent safe and effective treatment and we have the science to explain why.”

Also presenting on “The Science of Addiction,” at the Forum is Ruben Baler, PhD, Science Policy Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse. The premise of Dr. Baler’s presentation will take the audience through a two-part tour designed to first establish a solid evolutionary and scientific foundation of the brain as a pre-requisite for understanding. And during the second part, he will cover what scientists know when they present addiction as a brain disease and how best to prevent it.

CADCA’s Forum will once again occur at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center outside of Washington, D.C. Learn more about housing reservations and register for the Forum. Hotel reservations are due Monday, Jan. 11.

And don’t forget to join the conversation about our Forum on social media using hashtag #CADCAForum.