NORWAY – Western Maine Health and the Substance Abuse Services Committee at Stephens Memorial Hospital will host a daylong conference, “Alcoholism and Drug Addiction: Disease, Treatment and Recovery Update 6,” on Friday, Dec. 1.

There is still time to register for the conference. Ken Morse from Healthy Oxford Hills said, “The diversity of types of people, a real cross-section ranging from folks in recovery to service providers to public officials and law enforcement makes this a very robust discussion.”

This is the sixth year the conference will present information to the Oxford Hills area on alcoholism and drug addiction. The focus will be a keynote address on the threat of opiates in the rural areas of the state. Heroin and the prescription drugs that are being abused are readily obtainable on the Internet. Dr. Anthony Kozma of Mercy Recovery Services in Westbrook will address the expansion of opiates into the area.

Other speakers will focus on substance abuse in Oxford Hills, and new information from the Healthy Oxford Hills substance abuse strategic planning effort will be presented by Sarah Shepley.

Presentations by local substance abuse counselors will round out the day; there will also be anonymous presentations about recovery and the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, Al Anon and Narcotics Anonymous.

The conference will be held in the Harper Conference Center, Ripley Medical Building, Stephens Memorial Hospital. It will run from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The cost is $10 per person, and lunch will be provided. Preregistration is required, and forms are located at Community Concepts and in the lobby at Stephens Memorial Hospital. Scholarships are available.

Mail completed registration forms before Monday, Nov. 27, to Alcoholism and Drug Addiction Conference, c/o Common Ground Counseling, 235 Main St., Norway, ME 04268. Make checks payable to Stephens Memorial Hospital. For more information, call Jennifer Raudonis at 739-2644 or e-mail cmngrnd@megalink.net.

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