Join us for a stimulating and rewarding educational experience that will advance your understanding of addiction medicine and improve your clinical practice.
- Conference Schedule
- Online Registration has Closed
- Conference Brochure (pdf)
- Registration Form (pdf version for printing)
- Workshops
- Conference Fees
- CME and Educational Objectives
- Hotel and Travel (book your hotel online)
- Exhibits
- Scholarships
We have reserved a block of rooms at Hotel Tomo, located just one block from the Hotel Kabuki. Hotel Tomo is newly renovated and inspired by Japanese pop-culture. Each room has its own identity through anime-style wall paintings and views of the city.
Hotel Tomo is located at 1800 Sutter St., San Francisco, CA 94115. For reservations call Dara DeBruin at 415-614-5702. Identify yourself attending the California Society of Addiction Medicine conferece to receive the special rate of $129 per night. You may have to leave a message and have her call you back. Or you can use the link below to book aroom at the conference rate online:
Reserve a room at the Hotel Tomo
This year, federal insurance parity for substance abuse treatment has become law and a new administration promises a reorientation of health care policies. At this juncture, so rife with potential, we are pleased to offer a program emphasizing the latest evidence-based innovations in our field.
CSAM is honored to have two central figures in addiction research with us at this conference. Since the publication of The Natural History of Alcoholism in 1983, George Vaillant, MD, has been on the front lines of addiction treatment. He will give us both an update on more than 30 years of longitudinal studies on alcoholism and drug abuse and a review of the neurobiology underlying the success of twelve-step programs. A. Thomas McLellan, PhD, an acclaimed researcher in treatment and treatment outcome, will share his view of the new directions that drug abuse policy will take under the Obama administration. He is President Obama’s nominee for Deputy Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
Speaker Profile Page with Selected Articles
Conference Highlights
Thursday, October 8
Our opening session features three scientists on the cutting edge of addiction research. Antonello Bonci, MD’s research focuses on how stress and chronic exposure to ethanol and cocaine produce long-term changes in neuronal plasticity. Howard Fields, MD, PhD will discuss alcohol genetics and its implications for pharmacotherapy, and Dorit Ron, PhD will address medication development for alcoholism with peptide and hormonal targets. The Thursday afternoon session will provide the latest research and clinical insights in the science of spirituality, trust, and research enhancing twelve-step participation.
Friday, October 9
The developing adolescent brain carries unique risks for drug abuse, yet many physicians feel unprepared to meet the challenge of treating adolescents and young adults. Friday morning’s session will begin with Sandra Brown, PhD presenting on the sequence of brain development in adolescents. Paula Riggs, MD and Marc DeAntonio, MD will speak on innovations in the evaluation and treatment of adolescents with co-occurring mental illness and ADHD, and Marc Fishman, MD will discuss the treatment of teen opioid addiction.
Friday afternoon’s sessions will focus on state of the art clinical practice related to treating chronic pain and addiction. Allan Basbaum, PhD and Walter Ling MD will explore common neurological pathways underlying both chronic pain and addiction and outline their clinical implications. CSAT Director, H. Westley Clark, MD, JD, MPH will characterize the epidemic of prescription drug abuse and discuss proposed federal legislation which would establish new requirements for prescribing Schedule II medications. Scott Fishman, MD will explore the impact of these changes on pain management.
Saturday, October 10
A half-day program on cannabinoid pharmacology and the treatment of marijuana use disorders will conclude the conference. Tommy Pattij, PhD from the Netherlands will present his work on the role of the brain’s endogenous cannabinoid system in modulating executive function. Barbara Mason, PhD will present unpublished research on the roll of gabapentin in cannabis withdrawal. Krista Medina, PhD will discuss her study which measured neurocognitive impairment in adolescent marijuana users with 30 days of sobriety.
There are also a variety of full-day and one half-day pre-conference workshops to deepen your understanding of several challenging and state of the art topics.
Conference Planning Committee
Karen Miotto, MD, Conference Chair; Director of UCLA Addiction Medicine Service; Clinical Professor, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
Peter Banys, MD, MSc, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, UC San Francisco; Director, Substance Abuse Programs VA Medical Center, San Francisco, CA
Timmen Cermak, MD, Psychiatrist in private practice, Mill Valley and San Francisco, CA; Incoming CSAM President
Itai Danovitch, MD, Director, Addiction Psychiatry Clinical Services; Associate Director, Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship, Cedars Sinai, Department of Psychiatry and behavioral Neurosciences, Los Angeles, CA
Dana Harris, MD, Psychiatry Resident IV, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
Monika Koch, MD, Addiction Psychiatrist, Chemical Dependence Recovery Program, Kaiser Permanente, Vallejo, CA
Reef Karim, MD, Assistant Clinical Professor, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior; Associate Director, UCLA Addiction Medicine Clinic, Director, Beverly Hills Center for Self Control and Lifestyle Addictions
Jean Marsters, MD, Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, UC San Francisco
Ken Saffier, MD, Contra Costa Regional Medical Center Family Medicine Residency; Associate Clinical Professor Departments of Family and Community Medicine, UC San Francisco and UC Davis
Suma Singh, MD, Medical Director, Department of Alcohol and Drug Services, Santa Clara Valley Health and Hospital System, San Jose, CA
Phuong Truong, MD, Director, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment Program, Fort Walton Beach, FL
