The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University will present a special coference, Women Under the Influence: Substance Abuse and The American Woman at the JPMorgan Chase Conference Center at One Chase Manhattan Plaza, 60th Floor, New York City, On March 2, 2006.

Supported by The Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation and The American Legacy Foundation, this conference will coincide with the release of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation-supported CASA book, "Women under the Influence."

Panel discussions will examine, in depth, the most important issues women face in all stages of their lifetimes. They will also offer solutions for how our nation can respond to this too-long neglected crisis. The four panels and their moderators are:

• For Women Only: Gender Differences in Substance Abuse (Robert Bazell, Chief Health and Science Correspondent, NBC News)

• Coming of Age: Substance Abuse, Girls and Young Women (Elizabeth Cohen, M.P.H., Medical Correspondent, CNN)

• The Middle Ages: Substance Abuse and Adult Women (Judy Woodruff, Broadcast Journalist and Former Anchor, CNN)

• Golden Opportunity? Substance Abuse and Women Over 60 (Emily Senay, M.D., Health and Medical Reporter, CBS News The Early Show)

The conference will feature a keynote address by Nora D. Volkow, M.D., Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the participation of Cheryl Healton, DrPH, President and Chief Executive Officer of The American Legacy Foundation; Judy Woodruff, Broadcast Journalist and former CNN anchor (panel moderator); Elizabeth Cohen, M.P.H., Medical Correspondent, CNN (panel moderator); Robert Bazell, Science, Health and Medical Correspondent, NBC News (panel moderator); Emily Senay, M.D., Medical Correspondent, CBS News The Early Show (panel moderator); Stephanie S. Covington, Ph.D., Director, The Institute for Relational Development/Center for Gender and Justice, La Jolla, CA.

Also, Stephanie Brown, Ph.D., Director, The Addictions Institute, Menlo Park, CA and Co-Editor, The Handbook of Addiction Treatment for Women; Frederic C. Blow, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Research Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan and Director, National Serious Mental Illness Treatment Research & Evaluation Center, Department of Veterans Affairs; Nancy Waite-O'Brien, Ph.D., Clinical Director, Betty Ford Center, Rancho Mirage, CA; Sharon C. Wilsnack, Ph.D., Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor in the Department of Neuroscience, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences; Ralph I. Lopez, M.D., Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Associate Attending Physician, Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York City.

Also, Barbara J. Guthrie, R,N., Ph.D., FAAN, Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Programs, School of Nursing and Women's Studies, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Bruce Henry, M.P.A., J.D., Executive Director, Covenant House, International; Kenneth A. Perkins, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; Joseph LaBrie, S.J., Ph.D., Director, Heads Up! and Assistant Professor of Psychology, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA; and other influential voices on the problem of substance abuse and women.

Preregistration Required

The conference registration fee includes a continental breakfast, a box lunch and a variety of snacks and beverages throughout the day. Those wishing to participate in the conference can register online or print out a mail-in registration form (PDF). Walk-in registration will not be accepted the day of the conference.

More Information:

Females Become Addicted Quicker, Easier
Compared to boys and men, girls and women become addicted to alcohol, nicotine and illegal and prescription drugs, and develop substance-related diseases at lower levels of use and in shorter periods of time, according to research by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University.

Why Women Abuse Substances
Women begin abusing alcohol and drugs for different reasons than men do and may have more situations in their lives that trigger substance abuse, according to research by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University.

Source: CASA News Release