Iowa State University

5-17-96

Contacts:
Janet Melby, Rural Health Research Center, (515) 294-8144
Steve Jones, News Service, (515) 294-4778

NATIONAL RURAL DRUG ABUSE MEETING IN AMES, MAY 21-23

AMES, Iowa -- The first-ever national meeting on rural drug abuse is planned for Ames, May 21-23, at the Holiday Inn Gateway Center.

Sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the Rural Drug Abuse Symposium will focus on recommendations for rural substance abuse policy, intervention and research.

"The goal is an open exchange of information and views associated with rural drug use and abuse," said Janet Melby, a symposium organizer and researcher at Iowa State University's Rural Health Research Center.

Melby said symposium topics will include research-based findings on the causes of drug abuse, the effects of programs and policies, and access to and the appropriateness of prevention and treatment interventions for rural areas.

Symposium speakers will represent NIDA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Drug Enforcement Administration, Office of National Drug Control Policy, Iowa Division of Substance Abuse and Health Promotion, and ISU's Rural Health Research Center.

Ames is hosting the symposium because ISU's Social and Behavioral Research Center for Rural Health and Center for Family Research in Rural Mental Health are both leading research organizations for rural drug abuse, said Rand Conger, director of the Center for Family Research in Rural Mental Health.

-30-