by Laura Brown, MD, MPh, University of New Mexico

What is the most effective approach to address addiction?  Is it a US-style "War on Drugs" or a Portuguese public health model?  Is addiction a disease of dysfunctional neural wiring or a response to psychosocial disintegration?

Biography

Laura Brown, MD, MPH is a public health, addiction, and family medicine physician who is passionate about social justice and harm reduction.  She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and works for the University of New Mexico Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  Dr. Brown is currently a Fulbright Global Scholar researching local addiction treatment landscapes in Porto, Portugal now and in Vancouver, British Columbia next summer.