Andrew Carnie is a notable contemporary visual artist with a global exhibition footprint, based in the UK.
An emeritus fellow at the Winchester School of Art, Southampton University, Carnie’s work focuses greatly on the intersection of art and science. In fact, he has a blog focused on just that.
While he frequently collaborates with scientists, his creative approach remains broad and unconstrained by specific media, adapting his methodologies to the context and themes of each project.
Dr. Nora Volkow, a distinguished neuroscientist, is an important contributor in the fields of addiction science and mental health research.
Born in Mexico City in 1956, Dr. Volkow demonstrated academic prowess from the start, attending the National University of Mexico’s Medical School, where she was awarded the prestigious Robins Award for being the best medical student of her generation. She attending New York University to further her expertise in psychiatry, earning a Laughlin Fellowship for being one of the ten most outstanding psychiatric residents in the United States.
For years, students in middle and high schools across the country were urged to “just say no” to drugs and alcohol. But it’s no secret that the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program, which was typically delivered by police officers who urged total abstinence, didn’t work.
A meta-analysis found the program largely ineffective and one study even showed that kids who completed D.A.R.E. were more likely than their peers to take drugs (Ennett, S. T., et al., American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 84, No. 9, 1994; Rosenbaum, D. P., & Hanson, G. S., Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, Vol. 35, No. 4, 1998).
“We know that the ‘Just Say No’ campaign doesn’t work. It’s based in pure risks, and that doesn’t resonate with teens,” said developmental psychologist Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, PhD, a professor of pediatrics and founder and executive director of several substance use prevention and intervention curriculums at Stanford University. “There are real and perceived benefits to using drugs, as well as risks, such as coping with stress or liking the ‘high.’ If we only talk about the negatives, we lose our credibility.”
Globally, an estimated 64 million people were suffering from drug use disorders in 2022, with cases of adolescent substance abuse evident in all regions of the world.
Adolescence describes the phase of life when people transition from childhood to adulthood (ages 10-19). During this period a person experiences rapid biological, cognitive, physiological, and psychological change. It’s also when a person establishes both positive and negative patterns of behavior that can relate to physical activity, diet, sexual activity, and substance use. This vital stage of human development is crucial in building the foundations of good health as these learnt behaviors can continue to influence a person for the rest of their lives. When adolescents are continuously exposed to substances before their brain can fully mature there is a much higher risk of developing a dependency and psychiatric complications.
