MALVERN, PA (September 25, 2019) — With the surge in misuse of prescription and illicit stimulants, HMP, a leader in healthcare events and education and producer of the annual Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit, today announced the second annual Cocaine, Meth & Stimulant Summit will be held November 8–10, 2019, in Miami, Florida, and will feature an agenda comprising expert speakers with deep knowledge of the ongoing epidemic.
The Cocaine, Meth & Stimulant Summit is the only educational event providing clinical, law enforcement, and public safety professionals with practical strategies and solutions to address the country’s stimulant crisis, an often underrecognized emergency compounding the opioid epidemic. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), roughly 14,000 cocaine users and 10,000 meth users died in the United States in 2017, an increase of more than a third compared with 2016 and triple the number of deaths in 2012. That puts stimulant deaths on par with the opioid depressant heroin, which was involved in 15,000 overdose deaths in 2017.
The Summit will kick off with a keynote address from John L. Eadie, MPA, a coordinator with the National Emerging Threats Initiative, administered by the Office of National Drug Control Policy, on Friday, November 8. With 44 years’ experience within the public health field, Eadie has served in management, executive, and consulting capacities, directing the New York state Department of Health’s pharmaceutical diversion program from 1985 to 1995. His session will present the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Initiative’s (HIDTA) latest findings to be used by clinicians, law enforcement, and public safety personnel to design appropriate interdiction, prevention, and treatment programs.
Sheriff Mark Lamb, Pinal County, Arizona, is also slated to speak. Elected in 2017, Sheriff Lamb leads initiatives to address the stimulant crisis by developing relationships with mental and behavioral health providers throughout the county. In addition to its specialized narcotics and anti-smuggling teams, the Sheriff’s office works with federal partners to combat human and drug trafficking in Pinal County. Sheriff Lamb has appeared on A&E Network’s Live PD and 60 Days In.
“Addressing the dangers of stimulant addiction requires a multifaceted approach,” said Doug Edwards, Director, HMP’s Psychiatry & Behavioral Health Learning Network. “The perspectives gathered from various professional fields at the stimulant summit are crucial to identifying the evidence-based strategies we need for effective treatment and prevention. Having the participation of industry leaders like John Eadie and Sheriff Lamb is testament to the severity of this issue.”
This year’s Summit features a clinical track as well as law enforcement and public safety tracks, catering to the various players involved in fighting this epidemic. Attendees can earn up to 23.25 CE credits at the Summit, including 3 ethics credits. Organizations supporting the conference include the South Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, the National Safety Council, the National HIDTA Program Emerging Threats Initiative, and National Narcotic Officers’ Associations’ Coalition.
For more information, visit stimulantsummit.com. For media inquiries, contact Kelly McCurdy at pr@hmpglobal.com.
About HMP
HMP is the force behind Healthcare Made Practical – and is a multichannel leader in health care events and education, with a mission to improve patient care. The company produces accredited medical education events and clinically relevant, evidence-based content for the global health care community across a range of therapeutic areas. Its brands include Consultant360, the year-round, award-winning platform relied upon by primary care providers and other specialists; Psych Congress, the largest independent mental health meeting in the U.S.; Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit, the largest annual gathering on the opioid crisis; EMS World Expo, North America’s largest EMT and paramedic event; and the Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC), the largest wound care meeting in the world. For more information, visit hmpglobal.com.
