Considering the Associations Between Substance Use and Suicide

September 7, 2023

Webinar Description

September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. For this month's Monthly Media Series webinar, the Pacific Southwest PTTC would like to raise awareness on this preventable issue and highlight the important intersection between substance use and suicide.

In this webinar, we will consider alcohol-related risk factors for suicide, including ways in which alcohol use can impact decision making when a person is experiencing distress. We will also review the recent literature on cannabis, focusing on mental health concerns associated with the use of high-potency cannabis, as well as associations between cannabis use disorder and suicide risk. Implications for prevention, intervention, and public health will be discussed

Objectives

By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:

Define “alcohol myopia” and how this relates to suicide risk.
Identify a screening measure for cannabis use disorder.
Describe at least one potential unwanted outcome associated with the use of high-potency cannabis.
Discuss at least one implication for prevention, intervention, and public health.

Webinar Recording and Presentation Handout

*This presentation and all information contained within it is proprietary information of Dr. Jason Kilmer, Ph.D., and may not be adapted, modified, or disseminated without prior written consent of Dr. Kilmer. This presentation is intended to be used by prevention professionals for learning purposes only. This presentation is not ADA compliant.

Presenter

Dr. Jason Kilmer, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington (UW) School of Medicine and an Adjunct Associate Professor in Psychology at UW. Jason serves as an investigator on several studies evaluating prevention and intervention efforts for alcohol, cannabis, and other drug use by college students. In addition to research and teaching, he has worked extensively with college students and student groups around alcohol and other drug prevention programming and presentations throughout his career (including student athletes, fraternity and sorority members, residence life, and first-year students), both at UW and on over 125 campuses across the nation.

As faculty in the School of Medicine, Jason continues his direct work with students through presentations for intercollegiate athletics and residence life. Jason also serves as the chairperson of Washington state's College Coalition on Substance misuse, Advocacy, and Prevention (CCSAP)