Welcome to our Agenda!
* Please note: this schedule is constantly being updated. Please bookmark and check back frequently!
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Day 1 - April 22nd, 2026
8:00am-2:30pm (PDT) / 11:00am-5:30pm (EDT)
Keynote Session | 8:00am-9:15am (PDT) / 11:00am-12:15pm (EDT)
The Latest Science on Cannabis and Other Drugs from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA)
presented by NIDA Leadership, facilitated by Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, PhD, FSAHM & Ira Sachnoff, MA.
Dr. Compton will highlight the latest research from the National Institute on Drug Abuse on cannabis and other commonly misused substances. He will discuss emerging trends in substance use, recent scientific findings on health effects, and how this evidence can inform prevention, treatment, and public health efforts.
Break | 9:15am - 9:25am (PDT) / 12:15pm - 12:25pm (EDT)
Session A | 9:25am - 10:35am (PDT) / 12:25pm - 1:35pm (EDT)
THC Today: Potency, Addiction, and Health Risks in the Era of High-Purity Cannabis
David Fialko, BS, ICPS, CTTS, NCNTT
Council of Southeast PA, Inc.
Adolescent Alcohol Use: Emerging Trends, Risks, and Interventions
Ashley Ebersole, MD, MS, FAAP, Erin McKnight, MD, MPH, & Kerry Gannon-Loew, MD
Nationwide Children's Hospital/The Ohio State University/University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
The Complexities of Kratom – Pharmacology, Clinical Evolution, and Use Patterns in the Context of Product Diversification
Oliver Grundmann, PhD, MS, BPharm, Christopher R. McCurdy, PhD, FAAPS, & Abhisheak Sharma, MPharm, PhD
University of Florida
What’s Within REACH: The Stanford REACH Lab’s Substance Use Prevention and Intervention Suite
Juanita T. Greene, BA & Carly Noelani Kajiawara, MLFP
Stanford REACH Lab
A Restorative Pathway: Youth-Led Substance Use Circles in School Wellness
Vanessa Vrtiak, MA in Public Sociology & Youth Participants
The Humboldt Independent Practice Association
Why Young Adults Should Be #THCFree: The Brain, Body, Behavior, B.S., and Better Decisions
Laura Stack, MBA, CSP, CPAE
Johnny's Ambassadors Youth THC Prevention
Gas Station Pharmacology
Aaron Weiner, PhD
Prevention Research Institute
Cannabis, Psychosis, and Violence: Is There a Connection?
Ken Finn, MD
International Academy on the Science and Impacts of Cannabis
Stanford REACH Lab's Healthy Futures: Alternative-to-Suspension and Cessation Intervention
Marcia Zorrilla DrPH, MPH, MCHES & Natalie Andrade, MPH
Stanford REACH Lab
What’s a Parent To Do? - Supporting Parents with Preventing Substance Abuse
Dean Blumberg, PhD
Kaiser Permanente - San Francisco Addiciton Medicine & Recovery Services
Leveraging Trust to Address Cannabis and Nicotine Use in Clinical and Non-Clinical Settings
Anais Murphy, LMSW, MA, Michael Chen MD, FAAFP, & Kimber Cook, MPH
Action for Healthy Kids, University of Wisconsin Dept of Family Medicine and Community Health
Immersive Technology-Driven Strategies to Incorporate Healthy Coping and Emotion Regulation Skills into Cannabis and Nicotine Vaping Prevention Curricula.
Kimberly Hieftje, PhD, Deepa Camenga, MD, & Palomi Kurade, MS
Yale School of Medicine, XR, Pediatrics, Yale School of Medicine
Saving Lives: Mental Health, Substance Use, and Culturally Grounded Prevention Through Storytelling
April Rovero, BSBA & Gina Malagold, MA, MS, PhD
National Coalition Against Prescription Drug Abuse & Song for Charlie
Protecting Kids at the Source: Using Opioid Settlement Funds for Upstream THC Prevention — A Community Blueprint
Allison Dodge & Eric Anderson
One Chance to Grow Up, SE2 Communications
Break | 10:35am - 10:50am (PDT) / 1:35pm - 1:50pm (EDT)
Session B | 10:50am - 12:00pm (PDT) / 1:50pm - 3pm (EDT)
Prime For Life 420: An EBPP Adapted for use with THC
David Rosengren, PhD & Ejna Mitchell, MA
Prevention Research Institute
Answering Tough Student Questions About Substance Use
Emily Justice, MA, Derrick Kirk, Marissa Frias, & Tiffani Mason
Contra Costa County Office of Education
Stanford REACH Lab’s You and Me, Together Vape-Free & Smart Talk Cannabis Prevention Curriculums
Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, PhD, FSAHM & Angelique Canchola, MA
Stanford REACH Lab
Cannabis Edibles: What you need to know about Risks, Side Effects & Dangers
Libby Stuyt, MD & Jennifer Yates
International Academy on the Science and Impact of Cannabis
Catching Them Upstream: Early Intervention with Adolescents Using Substances
Kriya Lendzion, LCMHC, LCAS, CPS
Kriya Lendzion, LLC
Funding Strategies to Support Cannabis (and other drugs) Prevention Activities
Colber Prosper, MS, Rikki Barton & Kristina Clark
Prosper & Partners, LLC
How AI Supercharges Best Practices in Drug Education
Sasha Simon, MPH
Teach Substance
One Nation Under the Influence
Kevin Sabet, PhD & Luke Niforats
Smart Approaches to Marijuana / Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions
From Theory to Practice: Engaging Youth in Local Policy and Cannabis Prevention
Gabe Teran, MS, CATC-II, CADC-II, Eyana Rodgers, Elba Basurto Bravo & David Basurto Bravo
Next Gen Community Consulting, Contra Costa Health, Youth Presenters
From Policy to Practice: Restorative School Responses to Youth Substance Use
Christine McCall, LCSW, CADC, Dawn Post, MA, Josian Zuniga, MA, & Maria Ramos
Healing Interventions, PLLC, Action For Healthy Kids, California Health Collaborative
The Power of Family Meals: How to Build and Implement a Family Meals Initiative to Prevent Youth Substance Misuse
Jessie Dexter, MPA & Anne Fishel, PhD
Idaho Office of Drug Policy/The Family Dinner Project, Massachusetts General Hospital
Show Up 4 Your Friends, Show Up 4 Yourself, Show Up 4 Prevention: Amplifying Youth Voice to Maximize Community Impact
Nancy Pasquale, BA, Kate Chesley, Mila Furber, Lovisa Glitterstam, Fiona Marino
RyeACT Rye High School Youth Action Team & One Choice Prevention
Refreshment Break | 12pm - 12:30pm (PDT) / 3pm - 3:30pm (EDT)
Session C | 12:30pm - 1:40pm (PDT) / 3:30pm - 4:40pm (EDT)
Engaging Young Adults in Cannabis Interventions: Data, Design, and Novel Engagement Strategies.
Frederick Muench, PhD & Asher Herbstman, BFA, CMO
Northwell Health & Clear30
Riding the Wave of Prevention: A School-Wide Approach to Drug Prevention Education
Yonit Parenti, MS, PPSC
Moreland School District
Protect Your Game ® – the latest from Substance-Free Athletics (SFA - targeted prevention for high school)
Debbie Berndt
Substance-Free Athletics
Reassessing Risks and Remedies: EVALI Lessons and New Horizons in CUD Pharmacotherapy
Anna Carleen, MD & Ashley Ebersole, MD, MS
Nationwide Children's Hospital
Oral Nicotine Pouches: What they are and introducing the Stanford REACH's Lab Not So Sweet Smokeless Tobacco and Oral Nicotine Prevention Curriculum
Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, PhD, FSAHM & Juanita T. Greene, BA
Stanford REACH Lab
Working with youth in High Using Alternative, Continuation and Community Day Schools: How do we teach ATOD prevention when we know many of our youth are current users?
Amy Berner, Yesenia Ceballos, & Tiffani Mason, MAT - facilitated by Ira Sachnoff, MA
Vicente HS ,Sierra HS , Contra Costa County Office of Education, Cannabis Conference Co-Chair
Build Your Circle!
Aimee Sturges, MA, CTE
Conejo Valley Unified School District- Redwood Middle School
Cannabis Use During Pregnancy: Updates from Kaiser Permanente Northern California Research
Kelly Young-Wolff, PhD, MPH
Kaiser Permanente Division of Research
Blueprints & Breakthroughs: Lessons Learned in Partnering with Adult Allies for Youth Tobacco Prevention Across Two Cohorts
Tracy Nguyen, MPH
California School-Based Health Alliance
Understand Social Media’s Effects on Adolescent Vaping
Allison Chang, MD, Bradley Aaron Zicherman, MD & Mandy Halverson
Stanford Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Saving Lives One Spray at a Time: Addressing the Opioid Overdose Crisis through Overdose Education & Naloxone Distribution in the Midwest
Dave Zellmer, MPH, Maria Rahmandar, MD, Alec Mundle, MPH, CHES, & Lindsey Eilers
Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services, Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Measuring Access and Use: Health Access Data on Nicotine, Tobacco, and Cannabis in Immigrant Communities
Heddy Patrick Alves Garcia, Msc.
EMBRACE ALL LATINO VOICES, SF City College
Beyond The Haze: FNL Engaging Youth on Cannabis Prevention Policy
Jason Soroosh, MSPH, RD, PMP, Prakrit Bharadwaj, and Emme Landers
California Friday Night Live Partnership (CFNLP) California Youth Council
Break | 1:40pm - 1:50pm (PDT) / 4:40pm - 4:50pm (EDT)
Networking and Discussion Breakout Groups | 1:50pm - 2:30pm (PDT) / 4:50pm - 5:30pm (EDT)
Day 2 - April 23rd, 2026
8:00am-2:30pm (PDT) / 11:00am-5:30pm (EDT)
Keynote Session | 8:00am - 9:15am (PDT) / 11:00am - 12:15pm (EDT)
What Works and What Does Not: A look at Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs Prevention and Education Programs and Messaging
presented by Caroline DuPont, MD / Dareen Khatib, MPH, MCHES, RDN / Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, PhD, FSAHM
facilited by Ira Sachnoff, MA
The Panel of three experts with different experiences in substance-use related research, clinical work, public policy, and development and implementation of ATOD prevention programs will explore what we know works and what is needed when providing quality and effective ATOD prevention programs for youth. Some of the issues we will discuss including messaging, curriculums, what we know does not work, tailoring (or not) your message by age or other demographic factors, and harm reduction.
Break | 9:15am - 9:25am (PDT) / 12:15pm - 12:25pm (EDT)
Session D | 9:25am - 10:35am (PDT) / 12:25pm - 1:35pm (EDT)
Cannabis Prevention: Tools You Can Use to Strengthen Community, Media, and Data-Driven Strategies
Joe Eberstein, CPS
Center for Community Research
What's New in Motivational Interviewing and How It Can Help With Prevention
David Rosengren, PhD
Prevention Research Institute
Partnering with Parents: Strengthening the Counseling Process in Youth Substance Use Intervention
Deanna Valdez, PhD, LPCC, NCC, Licensed School Counselor
Albuquerque Public Schools, UNM, NMHU
California Sober: Getting Creative with Cannabis
Kim Porter, BSJ, CFRS & Bob Lamb, MPH
Be a Part of the Conversation
Integrative Protective Factors: Eco-therapy and Neurodiverse-Affirming DBT for Preventing Alcohol Use in Youth
Alejandro Ruelas-Mora, BA & Pablo Orozco-Castro, LCSW
Palo Alto University
From Policy to Practice: Building Naloxone-Ready Schools and Campuses to Prevent Overdose
Heather Thomsen, PhD & Hope Edwards, BS
Santa Cruz County Office of Education & Missouri Partners in Prevention
If Prevention and Recovery Just Sat Down for a cup of Coffee
Kym Laube
HUGS, Inc.
Reaching the Youngest: Trauma-Informed Prevention for Children Impacted by Substance Use
Trish Luna, MA
Lambi Learns LLC
Gas Station Intoxication: Hemp, Psilocybin, Kratom & Other Emerging High-Risk Products — How Communities Can Push Back to Protect Kids
Julie Dreifaldt, BA & Rachel O'Bryan, JD
One Chance to Grow Up
Best Practices for Clinicians
Ben Cort , Jessamy Cadigan, PsyD, Dean Blumberg, PhD - Facilitated by Ira Sachnoff, MAÂ
Cort Consulting Inc, San Mateo Union High School District, Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Addiction Medicine and Recovery Services, Cannabis Conference Co-Chair
Closing the Hemp THC Loophole: How Communities Can Turn a Youth-Safety Win into Lasting Protection
Diane Carlson, MPP
Harvard University, One Chance to Grow Up
Power of the Parent: How Maine Is Activating Parents to Prevent Youth Cannabis Use & Strengthen Mental Health
Krysten Isaac, BA
Rescue Agency
Unseen Spaces, Unspoken Needs: Queer Care Approaches to Tobacco Prevention in School Environments
Jess Esquivel, MPH & Sol Lagos, BA
California LGBTQ Health and Human Services Network
Break | 10:35am - 10:50am (PDT) / 1:35pm - 1:50pm (EDT)
Session E | 10:50am - 12:00pm (PDT) / 1:50pm - 3pm (EDT)
Unlocking Prevention Potential Through Epigenetics
Ken Winters, PhD
Oregon Research Institute
Hypofrontality: Effects of Marijuana on the Growing Brain
Crystal Collier, PhD, LPC-S
Know Your Neuro, Inc
Building Prevention Through Conversation: Helping Youth Talk, Helping Adults Respond, and Bringing Parents In Early
Angela Da Re, CPS, IPCS
Delta Prevention
From Silos to Solutions: Finding Success in Cross-Sector Partnerships for Prevention Services
Jason Strickler, MA & Lane Krumpos
Pueblo Y Salud, Inc. & Center for Applied Research Solutions (CARS)
Stories of Hope. A Narrative for Adolescent Recovery in High School
Joel Bekken, MA & Haley Axlund, LSW
Poudre School District
Escape the Vape: Rethinking Education & Cessation in Schools
Jessica Colvin, MSW, MPH, PPSC & McKenna Ziegler, MSW
Tamalpais Union High School District (TUHSD) and SWELL-Schools Well
How to Teach About Cannabis and Vaping in Middle and High Schools: Three Teachers Share What Works
Jonathan Hirsch, Tiffani Mason, Tiffany Padia facilitated by Ira Sachnoff, MA
Redwood HS, Contra Costa County Office of Education, Moreland Middle School, Cannabis Conference Co-Chair
The Prevention Policy Gap: What Adults Get Wrong About Youth and What Actually Works
Yana Malpani & Sarvesh Palani
Stand Strong Coalition
Bringing a Mental Health Lens to Youth Substance Use Prevention
Linda Richter, PhD & Cori Hammond, MPH
Partnership to End Addiction
What Adults Should Know: Insights from Students on Tobacco and Vape Use Prevention
Samantha Kelley, MPH, Julieta Duarte, Ryan Crowdis, MSW, & TUPE Youth Advisory Board youth leaders
Orange County Department of Education
Borgs, Bongs, and the Evolution of Prevention
Marissa Whitaker, MS
SUNY Cortland
Evaluation of Substance Use Prevention and Intervention Programs
Sarah Salven, MPH & Joe Eberstein, CPS
Center for Community Research
Fentanyl/Opioid and Other Drugs Harm Reduction: From Research to the Stanford REACH Lab’s Safety First and Fentanyl Overdose Prevention Curriculums
Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, PhD, FSAHM & Jessica Liu, PhD, MPH
Stanford REACH Lab, California State University Long Beach
Refreshment Break | 12:00pm - 12:30pm (PDT) / 3pm - 3:30pm (EDT)
Session F | 12:30pm - 1:40pm (PDT) / 3:30pm - 4:40pm (EDT)
Disrupting the School-to-Prison Pipeline: A Model for Equity in Substance Use Prevention
Caroline DeWitt, Ed.S., NCSP & Megan Miccio, LCSW
Denver Public Schools
Unpacking Cannabis Marketing: Tools for Protecting Youth Health
Jessica Willoughby, PhD & Stacey J. T. Hust, PhD
Washington State University
Kratom & 7-OH: Risks, Awareness & Overdose Prevention
Amanda Dugger, BS, MS, Justin Mauger, MA Int Ed, BSW, & Josh Pierce
Spokane Regional Health District
Hookah-Tell Me: Why we are concerned, and ways to prevent use
Dania Abubaker, PhD & Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, PhD, FSAHM
Stanford REACH Lab
The Dispensary Next Door: Strategies for Collaboration with Local Cannabis Dispensaries to Promote Safer Storage and Reduce Youth Access
Natalie Kimmerlein, BS
Coastline EAP/RI Student Assistance Services
The Impact of Online Trends and Drug Perception from a Youth Perspective
Ronak Shrawagi & Evelynn Marin
CourAGE; Contra Costa County Office of Education
Youth Perspectives on Cannabis and Other Drugs - A Panel Discussion
Marcia Zorrilla, DrPH, MPH, MCHES, Kendall Nord, Nathan Nyamao, Richard Do, Aarna Chalasani, & Cassandra Garcia-Gonzalez
Stanford REACH Lab & Stanford REACH Lab Youth Action Board
Youth Voices Matter: Using Student Data to Drive Effective Vaping Prevention in Schools
Aaliyah Torres, BSW, MSW, Darryl Davidson, BS, MS, CPM, Emmanuel Driver (Youth Presenter), & Luis Casas (Youth Presenter)
City of Milwaukee
Curiosity Over Control: Youth-Approved Approaches to Substance Use Prevention
Youth Presenters, Amelia Gross, LICSW & Rebeca Salinas, MSW
Students from Highline Public Schools
The Standard of Care for Recommending or Prescribing Medical Marijuana (cannabis)
Eric Voth, MD, FACP
International Academy on the Science and Impact of Cannabis
From Message to Momentum: The Science, Art, and Application of Driving Local Action to Prevent Underage Drinking with a Free Media Campaign
Craig PoVey, MSW
Synergy Enterprises Inc
Break | 1:40pm - 1:50pm (PDT) / 4:40pm - 4:50pm (EDT)
Networking and Discussion Breakout Groups | 1:50pm - 2:30pm (PDT) / 4:50pm - 5:30pm (EDT)