CPO webinar: In this moment of invisible symptoms: What the adolescent brain can tell us

There has been a global surge in adolescents’ use of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS)/vaping, cannabis (vaped, edible), and use of prescription opioids (POs) not-as-prescribed. The nature of these substances often renders them “difficult-to detect” due to limited physical and behavioral signs, along with subtle, but often, hazardous longer-term effects. 

Here, Dr. Feldstein Ewing will address the nature of substance use presentation in the adolescent age group, including challenges in detection and related complications that impact screening and prevention. Further, in terms of intervention, many of the existing addiction treatments that we use with adolescents were originally designed for adults; however, the adolescent brain is increasingly being recognized as substantively different than the adult brain. And, likely for related reasons, adolescents engage with substances in different ways than adults.