Mass. substance abuse conference aimed at youth

GREENFIELD, Mass. (AP) - About 100 middle and high school students and adult leaders from western Massachusetts are expected to attend a conference on substance abuse prevention.

The office of Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan will sponsor the second annual "Be the Influence" conference Wednesday at Greenfield Community College.

The keynote speaker will be Dr. Marisa Silveri, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Neurodevelopmental Laboratory on Addictions and Mental Health at McClean Hospital. Silveri is expected to talk about the latest developments in understanding the teenage brain.

Topics to be discussed include distracted and impaired driving and how to help a friend.

Cox Media Group