NEW TRAINING COURSE

WHAT DO WE REALLY KNOW ABOUT CANNABIS? INTERNATIONAL TRENDS AND THE LATEST CANNABIS INTERVENTIONS

Wednesday 29th September 2010, HIT, Liverpool

Australia has one of the highest rates of cannabis use in the world, with over one third of the adult population ever having tried the drug. In recent times different countries have adopted a range of different policies relating to the drug, some decriminalizing the drug, others increasing the penalties for use and others trialling the use of cannabis for medical purposes. This has resulted in a great deal of confusion and a polarization if views regarding the actual harms associated with cannabis use.

One thing is clear, however - some people experience great problems with the drug and there is an increasing demand around the world for treatment options. It would appear that Australia is ahead of the UK in respect of identifying the need and designing/delivering health promotion and treatments for problematic cannabis use. Over the past few years, a number of interventions have been trialled in Australia which aim to help young people who may want to stop or cut back their cannabis use. This training day will provide some basic information about cannabis use and the Australian experience, discuss the controversy about the need for treatment and consider some of the interventions which have been recently trialled internationally, particularly in Australia.

Paul Dillon has been working in the area of drug education for the past 25 years. Through his own business, Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia (DARTA) he has been contracted by many organisations to give regular updates on current drug trends. He has also worked with many school communities to ensure that they have access to good quality information and best practice drug education. He has also just completed a book 'Teenagers, Alcohol and Drugs' which was released nationally in February 2009. With a broad knowledge of a range of content areas, Paul regularly appears in the media and is regarded as a key social commentator, with interviews on television programs such as Sunrise, TODAY and the 7PM Project.

For more details on this course please email sarah.rylands@hit.org.uk or visit the training section of the website.