ETSU’s Center for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment has undergone a rebrand to address the shifting landscape of regional drug use and the strategies used to combat it.
The center is now known as the ETSU Addiction Science Center. Started in 2016, the center began as a sister project to Overmountain Recovery, an opioid abuse treatment clinic operated in collaboration with Ballad Health. The ASC provides an inter-professional link between the various colleges and organizations involved in research and treatment for the region.
“Prescription opioid abuse is not as prominent as it used to be,” said ASC Director Robert Pack. “At this point we have a prescription drug abuse problem, yes, but a lot of people have made the transition from that to other drugs, and so we thought we would kind of move the title of the center out a little bit, and make it more encompassing for the purpose of diversifying the kinds of work that we might do.”
With the name change, a change in programming is beginning as well. While normal ASC priorities will remain, the center will also focus on research and treatment of the growing use of methamphetamine in tandem with opioids.
“We also want to really refocus a little bit on prevention and kind of getting upstream from all of this, because if you’re constantly focusing on treatment and intervention, the return on investment is lower than if you’re able to prevent substance use disorder in the first place,” said Pack. “One of our faculty in the center is focused on, actually, workplace interventions and helping people get connected to treatment services earlier.”
While opioid abuse and other drug dependency remains a large issue for the region, the ASC’s vision of a drug-free region remains the same, no matter the name.
For more information regarding the Addiction Science Center www.etsu.edu/cph/pdam.
