Press Release: First Global Conference on Methamphetamine to Feature 80 Speakers from 16 Countries

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, August 13, 2008

Contact: Luciano Colonna, Chair, Executive Program Committee

First Global Conference on Methamphetamine to Feature 80 Speakers from 16 Countries
Full Program Agenda Available for Conference September 15-16, 2008, Prague, Czech Republic

PRAGUE, Czech Republic, August 11 -- The Global Conference On Methamphetamine today announced the program for the 2008 Global Conference on Methamphetamine. The conference will take place September 15-16, 2008, in Prague, Czech Republic. The full conference program is available online here.

The program committee has created an exciting program full of new and cutting-edge topics that is relevant and engaging for the international community. The two-day conference will feature a keynote presentation by Dr. Louisa Degenhardt, of the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. The conference includes two days of presentations, panels and discussions. There will also be methamphetamine laboratory displays and demonstrations.

This following is just a small sample of the presentations that will be given at GCM 2008. Ivan Langer, Minster of the Interior of the Czech Republic, will speak on the Intersection of Policy and Research; Jeremy Douglas and Matthew Nice of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) will present UNODC's 2008 Global Amphetamine Type Stimulant Situation Assessment; Ethan Nadelmann of the Drug Policy Alliance will present The Questions That Never -- Or Almost Never -- Get Asked About Methamphetamine; with Mike Sabin of New Zealand's MethCon Group countering with his presentation Don't Throw The Baby Out With the Bath Water. Also featured will be Network Environmental Systems' Methamphetamine Laboratory Display & Presentation. For the full program, visit the Global Conference on Methamphetamine web site at http://www.globalmethconference.com online.

Highlights of the Conference:

New Methamphetamine Epidemic in Thailand
Apinun Aramrattana, Research Institute of Health Sciences at Chiang Mai University

Methamphetamine Abuse in China
Lin Lu, Director, National Institute on Drug Dependence at Peking University

The Methamphetamine Epidemic in the US: Speed, Crank, Crystal, Ice and Tina and the Public Health Consequences
Richard Rawson, UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs

Methamphetamine: Clandestine Laboratory Update
Robert Pennal, Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, California Department of Justice

Dramatic Increase in Methamphetamine Related Drug Treatment Admissions in Cape Town
Andreas Plüddemann, South African Medical Research Council

A Global Overview of Youth Methamphetamine Use: Where Are We Now and Where Are We Headed?
Caitlin Padgett, Youth R.I.S.E.

Social Aspects of Methamphetamine Injection in Russia
Olga Borodkina, St. Petersburg State University

Safety First: Prevention Education For Methamphetamine and Other Drugs
Marsha Rosenbaum, Drug Policy Alliance

Amphetamine Type Stimulant Injection in the Republic of Georgia
David Otiashvili, Addiction Research Center, Union Alternative Georgia

Methamphetamine in the Czech Republic: EU Pervitin Deviance or Laboratory of EU Drug Future?
Tomáš Zábranský, Center for Addictology, Charles University in Prague,

Speaking to Be Heard: Outreach to Gay Men in San Francisco Who Do Meth
Michael Siever, The Stonewall Project, SF AIDS Foundation

Quite a Lot of Smoke But Very Limited Fire -- The Use of Methamphetamine in the European Union
Danica Klempova1 & Chloe Carpentier, European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction

According to estimates by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the World Health Organization (WHO): More individuals worldwide now use stimulants than opiates and cocaine combined. Methamphetamine is the most widely used illicit drug in the world except for cannabis. Over 26 million individuals used amphetamine-type stimulants in 2007.

Established trends show methamphetamine use to be widespread in North American, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand; while India, Pakistan, Eastern Europe, the Russian Federation, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Western Europe represent emerging markets or areas of perceived risk. Yet the development of appropriate and effective responses to stimulants lags. In most cases, treatment and prevention are inappropriately modeled on opiate and alcohol treatment, ignoring both the physical properties of the drug itself, and the fact that methamphetamine use patterns vary widely, and effective responses must be tailored to the unique needs of regions, cultures, and individual users. A lack of infrastructure, of funding, and of experts trained specifically in methamphetamine response compounds the problem.

As nations struggle to develop appropriate responses to methamphetamine, it is crucial that the most current scientific research, information, and best practices be available to those seeking to implement solutions. The primary goal of the First Global Conference on Methamphetamine is to provide a context for this important work to take place.

FOR MEDIA: The major sessions of the conference are open to reporters. Site visits, photo opportunities and interviews can be arranged. For journalists not traveling to Prague, interviews and briefings with key spokespeople and presenters can be arranged on request.

Sponsors and Partners include: The Czech Republic, Charles University, City of Prague, Network Environmental Systems, Marathon Oil Company, Podane Ruce, Cranstoun Drug Services, Sananim, Institute Scan, and The Thorne Group.