Marijuana Workshop in Durham This Month

Later this month, Durham Middlefield Youth and Family Services will sponsor a workshop entitled "Unraveling the Truth About Marijuana and Its Impact On Our Kids."

The free, interactive multimedia presentation is for parents, teachers, coaches, mentors and community members and will be held from 6:30-8 p.m. at Strong School on Tuesday, Oct. 23.

The workshop will address questions and concerns like: 

• What are the myths and realities of marijuana use today?
• How does it impact the brain and our children’s functioning?
• I smoked pot, should I tell my kid?

DMYFS has invited guest speaker Andy Buccaro to the event to provide attendees with solutions and strategies.

Andy Buccaco's bio

Andy is the Executive Director of Center for Change an intensive outpatient dual diagnosis clinic for adult males in New Haven, Connecticut.    Andy holds a Master’s of Social Work degree and Licensure in Drug and Alcohol Counseling.  In addition to being the executive director of Center for Change, he is also the director and founder of Project Courage, an agency located in Old Saybrook, CT, which specializes in mental health and substance abuse prevention and intervention services for adolescents.   Before launching Project Courage, Andy was the Director of School-Based Programming for New Hope Manor Inc.  In this role, Andy worked with public and private schools arranging contracts to allow schools to supplement their support staff with substance abuse counseling.  

Additionally, Andy worked as a clinician for Yale University’s Forensic Psychology Department in their research project comparing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with Twelve Step Facilitation models for treating alcoholism and addiction. During this time, he also provided clinical services for Yale’s adolescent substance abuse prevention program for students re-entering New Haven Public Schools.  With credentials in both the mental health and substance abuse fields, combined with well over a decade of experience, Andy provides clinical services that include thoughtful, compassionate and confidential interventions.  Andy’s specialties include substance abuse and anxiety disorders.

Andy is presently the Executive Director of The Center for Change in New Haven. He is the founder of Project Courage an agency in Old Saybrook that specializes in adolescent substance abuse and has extensive experience in the field. He brings his experience to his thoughtful presentations.