FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NOVEMBER 29, 2005
Contact: Bob Weiner/Rebecca Vander Linde 301-283-0821 or 202-329-1700
NATIONAL DRUG TREATMENT LEADERS TO MEET IN ATLANTA
** WED., NOV. 30 11:45 AM NEWS CONFERENCE with 4-STAR GEN. BARRY MCCAFFREY, LONGEST SERVING DRUG CZAR; DR. BARRY KARLIN, CRC HEALTH GROUP CEO, COUNTRY’S LARGEST TREATMENT PROVIDER; AND DR. RONALD HUNSICKER, NATIONAL ADDICTION TREATMENT PROVIDERS PRESIDENT, HOST OF SECAD CONFERENCE OF NATION’S ADDICTION TREATMENT LEADERS
SHERATON ATLANTA HOTEL, Room Atlanta 1, 165 COURTLAND St.;
MCCAFFREY, KARLIN WILL DISCUSS DRUG POLICY AS NATIONAL SECURITY MATTER, URGENT NEED TO TRAIN PHYSICIANS AND PROFESSIONALS
11:45 NEWS CONFERENCE (Sheraton Atlanta Hotel, Room Atlanta 1), MCCAFFREY LUNCH KEYNOTE SPEECH 12:30 pm, KARLIN SPEECH 2:30PM (Capitol Ballroom of Sheraton) HIGHLIGHT OPENING OF 30TH ANNUAL MEETING OF ADDICTION TREATMENT LEADERS
(Atlanta, GA) – Four-Star General Barry McCaffrey, the nation’s longest-serving drug czar from 1996-2001, now West Point professor and national media terrorism expert, will keynote the 30th annual Southeastern Conference on Addictive Diseases (SECAD) meeting of the country’s addiction treatment leaders. The site this year is the Sheraton Atlanta, 165 Courtland, November 30-December 3.
McCaffrey, who served as a commander of the first Gulf War and led the “Left Hook”, also was SouthCom commander and assistant to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Colin Powell prior to his White House Cabinet-level post as Director of National Drug Control Policy.
McCaffrey, joined by Dr. Barry Karlin, CEO of CRC Health Group, the country’s largest drug and alcohol treatment provider, and SECAD Conference Chair Dr. Ron Hunsicker, President of the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP), will have a news conference on the opening day, Wednesday, Nov. 30, at 11:45 AM, at the Sheraton Atlanta. The news conference will be followed by McCaffrey’s 12:30 PM lunch keynote speech and Karlin’s 2:30PM plenary address.
Gen. McCaffrey will discuss the national drug crisis as a security issue at home and abroad, and Dr. Karlin will discuss the failure of treatment professionals to develop universally accepted protocols and standards and the urgent need to train physicians, professionals, and the nation in the fact that drug abuse is a chronic illness.
Dr. Hunsicker said he wanted to bring Gen. McCaffrey and Dr. Karlin “to provide the top drug policy leaders in the nation on the opening day of our 30th anniversary conference.” All prior SECAD (Southeastern Conference on Addiction Diseases) annual gatherings have been in Atlanta. Hunsicker said that SECAD began as a regional conference to train physicians, but has become a leading national forum for all health care professionals interested in improving drug treatment.
According to HHS, 19.5 million Americans -- 8.3 percent of the total population ages 12 and up -- currently use illicit drugs as of last year. While 7.7 million people needed treatment for their drug problem and 18.6 million needed treatment for a serious alcohol problem, only 1.4 million received drug abuse treatment and 1.5 million were treated for their alcohol problem, according to the latest report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).