baltimoresun.com: Harford holds annual drug prevention and treatment symposium
7/3/2018
Harford County held its annual Drug Prevention, Intervention & Treatment Symposium Thursday at Bel Air High School.
This year’s day-long symposium featured speakers and workshops for adults and teenagers. This was the first year programs specifically geared to 14-18 year olds were presented.
More than 300 people attended, organizers said.
Featured speakers included “Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” comedian Dion Flynn and Joe Rannazzisi, the retired DEA senior executive, who helped expose the pharmaceutical industry’s role in the opioid epidemic.
Harford County Executive Barry Glassman provided an overview of the crisis and response in Harford County, and Maj. Gen. Randy Taylor, senior commander at Aberdeen Proving Ground, talked about leadership in times of crisis.
Rannazzisi, a former DEA official who has charged the pharmaceutical industry with culpability in the opiate epidemic, was the keynote speaker for the 14th annual symposium. He discussed his findings and goals to enforce the Controlled Substances Act.
A vast array of topics were presented at this year’s morning and afternoon workshops with titles including: Substance Abuse Prevention and Suicide Prevention; Vicarious Trauma and Workplace Resilience; Overdose Education and Naloxone Distribution; Relapse Prevention; and Spirituality and Recovery from a Neuroscience Perspective.