Washington County Substance Abuse Conference

Conference Schedule

9am--Welcome
Representative V. Lowry Snow – Utah House of Representatives District 74
Representative Snow is a member of the Utah House of Representatives. He has lived in Washington County for over 30 years. Rep. Snow is a former president of the Utah Bar Association and board member of the Southern Utah Community Legal Center, and is a founding partner of the St. George law firm of Snow Jensen & Reece. Perhaps most importantly, Representative Snow is a proponent of Substance Abuse Prevention.

9:30am – Keynote Address
Craig PoVey, M.S.W. – Substance Abuse Prevention Director for the State of Utah
In addition to his position as the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Prevention Administrator for the State of Utah, Mr. PoVey is also the president of the National Prevention Network, and Vice President on the Board of the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors. After working 12 years in adolescent and adult treatment, Mr. PoVey moved his efforts to a state and national level, taking over as Director of Prevention for the state Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health. He will discuss current prevention trends and how to strengthen community prevention infrastructure.

11:45am - LUNCH Provided by Honolulu Grill

12:30pm – 3:30 Breakout Sessions

Jordan Mathis – WCPC, Southwest Public Health Department
Adolescent tobacco use has long been a concern for prevention and health officials in Washington County, but current data suggested a change in the trend among our local youth. As a result, Health Promotion Director Jordan Mathis teamed up with the Washington County Prevention Coalition and the Southwest Prevention Research group to conduct research with local tobacco users in Washington County. This presentation will explore current tobacco trends, as well as new data “straight from the mouths of local youth tobacco users” that sheds new light on how we can tackle this problem as a community.

Det. Curtis Spragg, Washington County Drug Task Force, St. George PD & Logan Reid, Certified Prevention Specialist, Southwest Behavioral Health
Substance Abuse conferences often provide meaningful insight into drug issues plaguing our nation, but the information can seem distant and at times, unrelevant to what we experience in our home town. This presentation will address current drug trends and data specific to Washington County. Learn what the “State of our County” is regarding local drug trends, demonstrated through data from law enforcement, treatment, hospital admissions, school district, local courts, and more. And hear first-hand accounts of what is happening on the streets from a law enforcement detective who deals with these issues on a daily basis.

Dr. David Blodgett, MD – Southwest Public Health Department
Recent trends show that youth marijuana use is increasing in Southern Utah and Washington County. In fact, among middle-school aged adolescents, more kids are smoking marijuana than tobacco. Why are we seeing such a sharp increase in use? What can we do about it? Dr. Blodgett, Director of the Southwest Public Health Department, will explore some of the reasons for, and solutions to this trend.