EWC Presents on Methamphetamine Abuse and Children of Addicted Mothers

March 22, 2005

(Torrington, WY) The public is invited to attend the program "Meth Going Nowhere Fast" presented by Berton Toews, MD, Addictions Treatment Specialist and Director, Wyoming Recovery Treatment Center, Casper, Wyoming, Friday, April 1, 12:00 noon-2:30 p.m., EWC Fine Arts Center Auditorium. The program is the seventh in a series of educational awareness programs as part of March Awareness Month on Drugs and Alcohol Abuse sponsored by Eastern Wyoming College, Torrington, Wyoming.

Dr. Toews's presentation will speak to some of the following issues:

  1. the difference between use, abuse, and addiction
  2. the most common drugs in Wyoming
  3. knowing if someone has a problem
  4. the profound effects of meth on brain functioning
  5. the difference between meth and other drugs, particularly, the strength of meth's addictive characteristics
  6. addiction treatment for methamphetamine
  7. the increasing use of meth abuse in rural areas

Torrington Chief of Police Billy Janes will also speak to the status of methamphetamine in Goshen County and surrounding areas.

Following Dr. Toews's presentation, Laura Schmid Pizzato of the Southwest Counseling Service Women's Addiction Program, LCSW, will address the topic "Children of Addicted Mothers." Ms. Pizzato will speak to the social, emotional, and physical damage often inflicted on children who are "drug endangered" and live where drug abuse goes untreated and unchecked. Effective intervention for drug-addicted mothers, both for themselves and for their family unit, will be discussed and how the schools and community, in particular, can give the "victim child" greater support.

"Educational awareness can serve as a positive force in the prevention process," states Anne Gardetto, Project Director of EWC's Alcohol Issues Grant. "The fact that over 200 individuals have pre-registered for this workshop alone depicts the high interest and concern among area residents regarding the rise of methamphetamine use in our rural area. We are fortunate that the availability of the grant allows broad access to vital information, provided by regional experts, to our community and surrounding communities."
These programs, open to the public at no cost, are made possible by an alcohol issues grant funded by the Wyoming department of Health, Substance Abuse Division, through the University of Wyoming and Eastern Wyoming College.

For more information and/or to pre-register, please call Anne Gardetto, Eastern Wyoming College, (307) 532-8328.