Special zoom sessions to meet and greet representatives of our Platinum and Silver Sponsors. All registrants are welcome to attend. — All Sponsor Exhibit areas are open during this session

Welcome: Rob White, LCPC,Chairman, Director External Affairs and Business Development University of Maryland, Baltimore Department of Psychiatry

Plenary I: Building Recovery Capital in Individuals and Communities

David Best, PhD, Director, Centre for Addiction Recovery Research (CARR);Professor of Addiction Recovery,  Leeds Trinity University

Recovery capital helps us better understand the process of recovering from a substance use disorder (SUD) and determine the success of recovery and treatment interventions, improve coping strategies, and enhance an individuals’ quality of life in recovery.

Aliya Jones, MD, MBA, Executive Medical Director of Behavioral Health Services, Luminis Health

Opioid overdose deaths have continued to increase disproportionately in the Black community in Maryland, as it has across the nation. Dr. Jones’ plenary will take a critical look at more targeted approaches to slow down the rate of increase in opioid overdose deaths, thereby decreasing the growing disparity.

Keri Blakinger, Staff writer, Los Angeles Times; author, Corrections in Ink

Her memoir, Corrections in Ink, came out in June 2022. Keri will discuss her book, which has been described as an electric and unforgettable memoir about a young woman’s journey—from the ic rink, to addiction and a prison sentence, to the newsroom— emerging with a fierce determination to expose the broken system she experienced.

Maia Szalavitz, Neuroscience journalist; author, Undoing Drugs: the Untold Story of Harm Reduction and the Future of Addiction; Unbroken Brain: A Revolutionary Way of Understanding Addiction

Undoing Drugs is the first history of the harm reduction movement, which offers a fresh and compassionate alternative to the war on drugs. Developed and championed by an outcast group of people who use drugs, former users, researchers and public health geeks, harm reduction is a policy transformation that both saves lives and illustrates the enormous power of kindness.

Registrants are encouraged to relax, network with friends and exhibitors, and rejoin for the Unsung Heroes Ceremony.

Unsung Heroes Zoom Ceremony - All are welcome 

Although addiction is often described as a “family disease,” standard treatment modalities rarely actually include families. But families have unique influence and connection for our patients and can provide very impactful support, encouragement and leverage to improve outcomes. This session will highlight practical approaches to involving families in addiction treatment across the lifespan, including advantages, barriers and overcoming barriers, navigating confidentiality and communication, shared CH decision-making, and innovative models that engage concerned significant others to improve treatment adherence and retention.

There is a significant shortage of psychiatrists and, in particular, addiction psychiatrists in the rural areas of Maryland. In recent years Telemedicine technology such as video conferencing has been successful in extending care to these underserved areas. This workshop will describe innovative tele-programs that are being designed and delivered in rural areas of our state. They include direct patient care to patients with substance use disorders and consultation to primary care providers that are treating these patients. Specific programs at the Wells House in Hagerstown, the Health Department in Caroline County, and programs in several rural county jails will be described

Over the past few years, a number of newer substances have appeared in the illicit drug landscape, both nationally and locally. Some are similar to the more established substances; others are unique. This workshop will provide attendees with an overview of some of the newer substances of abuse, “street” terminology, what they look like, how they are used, what kinds of effects to look for and possible medical consequences of their use.

PreventEd will share details on the development, implementation, and evaluation of a peer taught cannabis prevention program. This curriculum was designed to engage Junior and Seniors at a local high school to facilitate the lessons with their Freshman and Sophomore peers. In prevention efforts, the messenger is often just as important as the message. By empowering young people to be leaders, they have the ability to gain a deeper understanding of the prevention information and the lesson is better received by their peers. This curriculum is implemented in a 3-lesson series that provides up-to-date facts on the changing landscape of cannabis in MO and across the U.S. In a randomized control trial, results have recently shown that there are several outcomes with statistically significant results. The outcomes of the program will be discussed in the presentation, along with lessons learned and ongoing efforts to enhance the program.

Sports betting has proliferating throughout the United States and into Maryland in recent years and has become a $200 billion world-wide business. Along with bringing revenues into state governments, sports betting is also contributing to gambling addiction and harms related to gambling for individuals and families. This workshop will describe the nature and scope of sports betting and problematic sports betting. We will also explore co-occurring risk factors such as substance use disorders and impulsiveness. We will consider awareness, prevention and intervention strategies to mitigate the harms related to sports betting.

An exploration and discussion of the historic first year of operation of OnPoint NYC’s Overdose Prevention Centers (OPC) in East Harlem and Washington Heights in New York City. This workshop will review operational philosophy and approach, legal and political landscape, funding structure and outcomes after a full year of operations. Overdose Prevention Centers are safe places where people who use drugs can receive medical care and be connected to treatment and social services. OPC services are proven to prevent overdose deaths, and are in use in many jurisdictions around the world. OPCs are a benefit to their surrounding communities, reducing public drug use and syringe litter, and has proven to be an effective harm reduction strategy.

Focus Groups - Special networking session with Platinum Sponsors; open to all registrants

Employee well-being continues to be a much talked about issue in today’s workplaces. EAPs and Employee Wellness Programs share that overall goal. . This workshop will explore the history of workplace employee wellness programs and their goals. We will define and explain the differences between primary, secondary and tertiary prevention as they apply to EAPs and Employee Wellness Programs. Does it make sense for EAPs and Employee Wellness Programs to be closer linked? What is the benefit to the employee and their family members? What does the future hold? Come join us to learn, to engage and discuss.

This workshop outlines BHAs Vision on the Continuum of Care framework for behavioral health services and provide specific highlights from each division on how their work aligns with this vision.

Smoking-related deaths are greater than from all other SUDs combined, and tobacco use disorder (TUD) is very common among persons with other SUDs. But unfortunately, TUD is rarely addressed in standard addiction treatment, because of misconceptions that it may be “too much” at once, and a misplaced sense of futility. This workshop will explore these barriers to treatment of TUD and approaches to overcoming them, including: evidence for addressing TUD during treatment for other SUDs, updates on the latest developments in TUD medication treatment, introduction to and early experience with “Talking About Tobacco” a novel motivational intervention for TUD in inpatient SUD settings.

Employers have been grappling with confusing cannabis laws for years — and the rules are getting tougher to navigate as more states add employment guidelines for cannabis users. Increased access to cannabis results in increased use and increased risk especially for safety sensitive employees. The number of safety sensitive employees testing positive continues to climb and CBD throws another wrench in the employment picture. We will look at cannabis and CBD through the lens of the workplace and the challenges employers and employees are facing throughout the United States.

This presentation will present an overview of Motivational Enhancement Therapy/Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: 5 Sessions (MET/CBT5), an evidence-based intervention developed to treat adolescents engaged in cannabis use. MET/CBT5 combines motivational enhancement therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy in a brief, five-session treatment intervention. The first two sessions utilize Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET) in individual sessions to focus on factors that motivate clients to change and to help each client identify the client’s own specific reasons for considering change. The following three sessions are delivered in a group format, using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help clients learn skills to cope with problems and meet their needs in ways that do not involve turning to marijuana or alcohol. Developmental and cultural considerations for this intervention will be discussed.

This presentation will highlight the important consumer protections in Maryland that entitle you and your family to get timely and affordable access to substance use disorder and mental health treatment and a new proposal that will help Marylanders enforce those rights. The session will identify new legal protections, including increased enforcement of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, restrictions against balance billing, and network adequacy standards in commercial insurance. Because these laws are complicated and hard for an individual to enforce, we will also explore a program proposal to establish a consumer assistance program to help Marylanders understand their insurance coverage for substance use disorder and mental health care and resolve insurance-related problems. Your feedback during this interactive session will be used to create the right program structure and support our advocacy.

Thank you for joining us today!