Rosalie Liccardo Pacula PhD holds the Elizabeth Garrett Chair in Health Policy, Economics & Law at the Sol Price School of Public Policy, University of Southern California and is a Senior Fellow with the Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics, where she co-directs the RAND-USC Schaeffer Opioid Policy Tools & Information Center of Excellence (OPTIC) in addition to leading numerous National Institute of Health funded studies examining the impact of federal, state and local laws on the supply, demand and access to treatment for intoxicating substances. Previously she spent 21 years at the RAND Corporation, serving as co-director of RAND’s Drug Policy Research Center for 15 of those years, working on drug policy studies for the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, European Commission, and the U.K. Home Office. She served on NIDA’s National Advisory Council Cannabis Policy Workgroup (2017), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA’s) technical advisory committee on preventing cannabis use among youth (2020-present), the World Health Organization’s Technical Expert Committee on Cannabis Use and Cannabis Policy (December 2019-2020), the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine Committee on the Review of Specific Programs in the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (2021 – present), the CDC’s National Injury Prevention’s Board of Scholarly Counsellors (2021- present), and is currently President of the International Society for the Study of Drug Policy (2019- present). Dr. Pacula is a graduate from the Santa Clara University and received her doctorate in economics from Duke University.

Dr. Roberto Olivardia is a Clinical Psychologist and Lecturer at Harvard Medical School. He maintains a private practice in Lexington, MA where he specializes in the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Eating Disorders and issues that face students with learning disabilities. He is on the Professional and Scientific Advisory Boards for Children and Adults with ADHD (CHADD), The Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA) and ADDitude Magazine and website. He is also a Featured Expert for Understood.org. He has spoken at numerous conferences, webinars, and podcasts.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4414493/

Zulauf CA, Sprich SE, Safren SA, Wilens TE. The complicated relationship between attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and substance use disorders. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2014 Mar;16(3):436. doi: 10.1007/s11920-013-0436-6. PMID: 24526271; PMCID: PMC4414493.

Drugged Driving.

4/20 – the improptu national holiday for marijuana, and we want to bring about marijuana awareness. Marijuana has many side effects and health consequences, but today’s focus is on drugged driving. If you smoke weed for any reason don’t get behind the wheel for at least 4 hours. If you use edibles, wait at least 8 hours. Driving sober means no alcohol or drugs.

Lesley Phillips is an Education & Training Specialist with the Training, Research and Education for Driving Safety (TREDS) program at UC San Diego. She develops online learning programs for various health-related projects and implements marketing campaigns to expand the reach of TREDS’ traffic safety curriculum. Lesley served as a Peace Corps volunteer in West Africa after she completed her bachelor’s degree at Occidental College. This experience sparked her interest in health education and inspired her to pursue a Master of Public Health from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Lesley has over 15 years of experience in public health and has a passion for working with people in a variety of settings.

Steer Clear Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Course for High School Students