Addiction tackled in Norway

NORWAY - Addiction, and how to prevent it, was the focus of a recent conference in South Paris.

Stephens Memorial Hospital, through its Healthy Oxford Hills program, hosted the conference on addiction December 3, at the First Congregational Church. Open to all who wanted to attend, the conference involved experts on the treatment and characteristics of addiction, those who deal with the effects of addiction, and people involved in its prevention, in order to broaden understanding and help any of those involved become more aware of trends in the field.

Roughly 70 people from all walks of life attended, said Heather Westleigh, the substance abuse prevention coordinator at Healthy Oxford Hills.

Among the speakers at the conference were Oxford County Sheriff Wayne Gallant; Mark Publicker MD, the medical director of Mercy Recovery Center; Christine Teriault, of the Maine Office of Substance Abuse; and Bill Stockwell, chairman of the conference committee.  The Oxford Hills Public Aware Players made a special presentation of a dramatization dealing with the need for communication about the subject.

The Public Aware Players writes and produces its own dramatic interpretations of issues, mostly addressing addiction, as educational tools aimed at other youngsters and adults who work and/or live with addicts.

Theoretical, scientific, sociological and legal information was presented, but the stories told by recovering substance abusers of various ages and backgrounds punctuated the proceedings with clear descriptions of the terrible effects of the disease of addiction.

Westleigh said she considers the conference a success, given that one promising outcome has been volunteers expressing interest in joining the Oxford County Substance Abuse Task Force, which is working toward securing a Drug Free Communities grant to increase drug abuse prevention efforts, especially those aimed at young people.

Photo: contributed

FOR FEWER ADDICTS - Roughly 70 people attended the Healthy Oxford Hills Addiction Conference earlier this month. The annual confab is held to promote interest in prevention and also keep local professionals, paraprofessionalsand volunteers up-to-date.