APRIL 25, 2018 – DRUGS AND ADOLESCENT BRAIN:

Adolescents are infamous attention seekers and risk takers. Many adolescents engage in activities and behaviors that garner attention from others and could be potentially harmful or destructive (whether to the body or mind). These risky behaviors provide a rush or an experience of extreme emotion, which adolescents tend to crave because of their developing emotion center of the brain. One of the last parts of the brain to develop is the judgment and decision-making center, leading adolescents to engage in more impulsive behavior without thinking of future consequences. Substance use is both a typical and a dangerous adolescent activity. It provides the adolescent brain with the stimulation it craves, but can have dire long-term outcomes. This session will explore adolescent development and the impact that substance abuse can have on a young person’s life.

FACULTY:
Jessica Pearce, National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
Judge Kami D. Hart, Gila River Indian Community

MODERATOR:
Ansley Sherman (Muscogee Creek), Program Attorney, National American Indian Court Judges Association