More than 2,500 substance abuse prevention and treatment specialists from throughout the country will convene in Washington, D.C. for Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America's (CADCA) 19th annual National Leadership Forum, held February 9-12, 2009 at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, located on the banks of the Potomac River.

CADCA's National Leadership Forum is the nation's largest training conference for community alcohol and drug prevention advocates and substance abuse professionals, featuring more than 100 workshops on some of today's most pressing issues—ranging from strategies to tackle underage drinking to the latest science on drug addiction and treatment.

This year's event will feature a keynote presentation by Peter Block, author of “Community: The Structure of Belonging”, which explores how a community can emerge from fragmentation and become alive with possibility, generosity and deep engagement.

Other featured speakers at CADCA's Forum will include Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA); Congressmen Sander Levin (D-MI), Danny Davis (D-IL), Zach Wamp (R-TN) and Frank M. Kratovil (D-MD); and Congresswomen Mary Bono Mack (R-CA), Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) and Nita Lowey (D-NY).

“We're excited about our National Leadership Forum, because not only will it offer prevention leaders an opportunity to learn effective strategies to solve their community's substance abuse problems, but it will allow them to hear from the country's leading experts on drug prevention, treatment and recovery,” said General Arthur T. Dean, CADCA's Chairman and CEO.

CADCA's National Leadership Forum will include a special track entitled “Curtailing Consumption,” with workshops ranging from how to pass social host ordinances to prevent underage drinking to how to develop a prescription drug disposal program.

Other topics will include prescription and over-the-counter medicine abuse, addiction treatment and recovery, social norms and media campaigns, coalition sustainability and evaluation, prevention strategies for rural and urban communities, preventing substance abuse among returning veterans and other special populations, marijuana and methamphetamine use prevention, and prevention strategies for culturally-diverse communities. 

CADCA will kick off its Forum on Feb. 9 with Community Prevention Day, hosted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)'s Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, followed by Capitol Hill Day on Feb. 10, when participants will hear from some of the nations leading champions in Congress for drug and alcohol prevention, and hold a rally near the Capitol building. Workshops will be held Feb. 11-12.

The Forum will also include CADCA's Youth Summit and National Youth Leadership Initiative, which will bring together 200 youth from across the country to learn how to become anti-drug advocates and powerful community leaders.

For a complete schedule of events and more Forum information, visit www.cadca.org.