Talk Focuses on Substance Abuse and Teen Brain Development

The auditorium at Bedford Middle School was the scene tonight of a presentation by Ruth Potee, an addiction and adolescent and brain development expert, who discussed substance abuse and teen brain development. She said genetics, early exposure to substances during brain development, and a history of childhood trauma are all risk factors. She spoke of the long-term impact of marijuana on the adolescent brain and how opioid use has developed into an epidemic throughout the United States. Potee is a board certified family physician and addiction medicine physician at Valley Medical Group in Greenfield, Massachusetts. The event was sponsored by the Department of Human Services’ Positive Youth Development Initiative, in partnership with the Westport Prevention Coalition. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com