On history of drug abuse, addiction in U.S.
• Well done! I appreciated how far back Sue went
in history. • Interesting, informative, engaging info.
• Really gives context to the issue. Like to see discussion of federal legislation.

On the biology of addiction and public policy
• It’s helpful to understand the biological basis since
it helps remove the stigma so closely associated with alcohol and drug addiction. • Well-prepared for layman’s (me) understanding.
• Good presentation.
• Excellent presentation.

On publicly funded treatment
• Like the data showing Tennessee, Colorado and national average.
• Great presentation.
• Fast paced, articulate speaker.

On the effectiveness of treatment
• Good information on how treatment works and different types. Nice that he was aware of what level knowledge legislators may need and are interested in.
• Jack’s experience as a state person is invaluable.
• Good intro. I look forward to hearing details of his project involving performance-based contracting tomorrow.

On the report from Arkansas
• Good speaker. Nice to hear the energy and enthusiasm. Anxious to see how Arkansas is able to implement their unique identifier for treatment.
• Would have liked a little more time to hear about the Arkansas experience but otherwise Rep. Allen’s talk was good.
• Inspirational – helped connect dots.

On facilitated discussions
• Started to develop goals. Good open discussion but need more time.
• Focused and relevant.
• Brought all ideas together with a great plan and concise goals.

On substance abuse and child welfare
• Great to see this at the federal level and to be aware of assistance at the state level.
• Dynamic speaker – uses slides just for springboard to presentation content. Good data and resources for states.

On the cross state conversation
• Nice opportunity to share random comments across states – helped build group.
• Interesting exchange of ideas between states.
• Should do more of this.

On treatment for offenders
• Great content! No Suggestions – very effective. Need him to come to Colorado.
• Great speaker. Interesting to see programs and what works best for different levels of offenders.
• Also great to tell legislators where people are going and how to put these requirements into statutes.
• One of the best parts of the program.

On prevention
• Good discussion and participant involvement.
• Relevant info looking at prevention and what we do, what is often proposed to the legislature in Tennessee.
• I think this was helpful because it gave a different perspective to reducing use of drugs and alcohol.

On working across systems
• Interesting case study sounds great to get everyone to the table.
• Really relevant.
• Good presentation.

On a personal view of addiction
• Effective presentation. I suspect many more state legislators are in recovery but do not speak out or use their experience to help others.
• Thank you for your candor and congratulations on your achievements!
• This part of program helps with understanding that addiction does not discriminate across socioeconomic line.
• Courageous woman! Appreciate her honesty.

On treatment medications
• Great speaker, excellent knowledge, and ability to teach others.
• I learned information that I had no prior knowledge of.
• Another very informative session.

On medication assisted treatment
• Most helpful in understanding. Having a patient (client) to talk was very insightful.
• Interesting to hear client and provider viewpoints.
• Appreciate methadone user’s honesty and how clinics work.

On performance based contracting
• He is a good presenter. Information is presented in a practical manner.
• Timing of workshop resulted in less time for this presentation. More info would have been helpful – on outcomes, how to measure, etc.
• I’ll be calling TRI.

On Connect to the Experts
• Great resource.
• This was helpful for use in future.
• Very helpful.

What Participants Said, continued

On state team planning
• Came together and developed reasonable, achievable plan.
• Very helpful. Good facilitation.
• Allison was a great facilitator, got the team moving efficiently.
• Brian was both polite and firm about moving forward.

On Colorado’s plan
• Concrete goals and good team synergy. Excitement on my part – activating change.
• Leslie did a great job of contributing in the group on background info and summarizing our plan.
• Good luck, CO!

On Tennessee’s plan
• Lots of thought and honest assessment demonstrated by team. Presentation spurred good discussion about partisan considerations on issues.
• Senator Finney gave a good summary, which led to a great discussion.
• Good luck to us!

Overall comments
• This was a great program. A timely topic. The format was perfect.
• Well done—scholarship excellent.
• Informative and productive! This was totally worthwhile and will (with a little luck) result in tangible policy improvements in Colorado.

Overall comments, continued
• Excellent forum. Only opportunity we have had to focus on this central issue. Feel it will lead to decisive action and progress. Many legislators in country should participate in this.
• I think this is a fabulous program and it has been great to educate and open dialogue between state and legislators.

Liked best about the program
• Presented a wide breadth of substance-abuse related issues, got great quality speakers, well organized materials.
• Interaction with legislators.
• 1—Opportunities for discussion. 2—Breadth of topics. 3—Cutting edge nature and avoidance of controversial issues.
• The providing of factual information.
• Opportunity to interact across branches of government – to brainstorm along with those who will implement any program.
• Opened dialogue with state agencies.
• Great presenters and moderators. And the presentations were accessible (and easily referenced for later use). Well organized and efficiently run.
• The scientific fundamentals and specific discussion of policy options. Concrete is better than abstract discussion.

Faculty and Staff

Faculty
David Friedman, PhD
Director
Addiction Studies Program
Professor, Department of Physiology
and Pharmacology, Wake Forest
University School of Medicine
Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Sue Rusche
Co-Director
Addiction Studies Program
President and CEO
National Families in Action
Atlanta, Georgia

Jack Kemp
Senior Policy Associate
Treatment Research Institute
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Douglas B. Marlowe, JD, PhD
Director
Section on Criminal Justice Research
Treatment Research Institute
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

John O’Brien, PhD
Director, Resources for Recovery
Technical Assistance Collaborative
Provincetown, Massachusetts

Prabhu Ponkshe, MA, LLB
President, Health Matrix, Inc.
McLean, Virginia

Harold Holder, PhD
Senior Research Scientist and
Former Director
Prevention Research Center
Berkeley, California

Allison C. Colker, JD, Esq.
Partner
Addiction Studies Program
Program Director
National Conference of State Legislatures
Washington, D.C.

Brian Weberg
Group Director
Legislative Management Program
National Conference of State Legislatures
Denver, Colorado

Representative Fred Allen
Arkansas State Legislature
Little Rock, Arkansas

Nancy Young, PhD
Director, Children and Family Futures
National Center on Substance Abuse
and Child Welfare
Irvine, California

Eric Dickerson
Controller and Office Manager
National Families in Action
Matthew Gever
Policy Associate
National Conference of State Legislatures
Washington, DC

H. Westley Clark, MD, JD, MPH
Director
Center for Substance Abuse Treatment
Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration
Rockville, Maryland

Representative Sharon Cooper,
RN
Georgia House of Representatives
Atlanta, Georgia

Representative Liz Malia
Vice Chair—Joint Committee on
Mental Health and Substance Abuse
Massachusetts State Legislature
Boston, Massachusetts

Staff
Eric Dickerson
Controller and Office Manager
National Families in Action
Matthew Gever
Policy Associate
National Conference of State Legislatures
Washington, DC

Teika M. Holloway
Secretary III
Department of Physiology and Pharmacology
Wake Forest University School of
Medicine
Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Diane Joyner
Administrative Assistant
Wake Forest University School of
Medicine
Department of Physiology and Pharmacology
Winston-Salem, North Carolina