The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA*) at Columbia University will hold its 17th CASACONFERENCE, "How to Stop Wasting the Best and the Brightest: Substance Abuse at America's Colleges and Universities," on Thursday, October 23, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at The Conference Center at Dewey & LeBoeuf, 1301 Avenue of the Americas (at 52nd St.), New York City.

America's college culture of alcohol and other drug abuse threatens the present well-being of millions of college students and the future capacity of our nation to maintain its leadership in the fiercely competitive global economy. Half of full-time college students binge drink, abuse prescription drugs and/or abuse illegal drugs. Almost one in four meet the medical criteria for substance abuse and dependence.  

The results of college drinking are devastating. Each year approximately -- 1,700 students die from alcohol-related injuries; 100,000 students are victims of alcohol-related sexual assaults or date rape; 700,000 students are assaulted by other students who were drinking.

By bringing college presidents, trustees, alumni, parents, students, and the larger community together with leading journalists for dynamic panel discussions, this timely conference will offer solutions for how America can stop wasting its best and brightest young people.

Delivering the keynote addresses will be Nora D. Volkow, M.D., Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and Joseph A. Califano, Jr., Chairman and President of CASA and former Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare.  

Panels will be comprised of the most influential voices on substance abuse, higher education and public safety in the nation and will be moderated by four top national journalists.  

Panels include: Getting the 'High' Out of Higher Education: College Presidents, Trustees and Alumni; Parent Power: The Role of Parents; Student Disorientation: Substance Abuse Among America's College Students; and A Public Affair: The Role of the Community.

WHAT:
CASACONFERENCE: How to Stop Wasting the Best and the Brightest: Substance Abuse at America's Colleges and Universities

WHEN: 
8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 23, 2008

WHERE: 
The Conference Center at Dewey & LeBoeuf, 1301 Avenue of the Americas (at 52nd St.), New York City

WHO: 
Dr. Nora D. Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA); Jeffrey Toobin, Legal Analyst, CNN and Staff Writer, The New Yorker; Cynthia McFadden, Co-Anchor of ABC News' "Nightline"; Lesley Stahl, Correspondent for CBS News' "60 Minutes"; and Mike Barnicle, Political Analyst, MSNBC