Student Health Services will host Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) Awareness Week to bring attention to issues surrounding substance use in honor of Alcohol Awareness Month April 8-11.

Events will include a panel about medical marijuana, a screening of “Beautiful Boy” and a prescription drug drop-off. All events are free and open to Washington University students, faculty and staff.

AOD Peer Health Educator Honey Patel says AOD Awareness Week will educate the campus community on alcohol and drug related issues.

“I think AOD Awareness Week will be really helpful for students, staff and faculty who may have questions about related topics, especially alcohol and substance abuse and marijuana use,” Patel said. “It’s also a great way to interact with both on-campus and off-campus professionals who are knowledgeable in these areas, such as EST, Clayton Paramedics and WUPD.”

Assistant Director of AOD Programming Amanda Hoylman said the week was developed at the urging of several campus organizations who want to create culture change around substance use.

“The Peer Health Educators, Habif Health and Wellness Center and the Alcohol and Other Drugs subgroup of the Health and Wellness committee decided in a collaborative effort that they wanted to come together and do a week that was geared specifically towards the campus population regarding prevention and education around substance use,” Hoylman said.

The events start Monday with a tabling event called, “How to Talk to a Friend About Their Substance Abuse.” Peer Health Educators and SHS-affiliated staff will be present around campus to answer questions related to beginning an impactful conversation with a friend regarding substance abuse.

“After talking with students and staff that work on the AOD committee, there were certain topics that were standing out to us,” Hoylman said. “One of the things we heard more this past year were students coming in and asking questions like ‘How can I talk to friends about substance use?’ Realizing the need for that, we wanted to do a day specifically dedicated to making that more of a priority and educating on that topic.”

On Tuesday, students will be able to meet with EST members and Clayton paramedics outside the Danforth University Center (DUC) from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. to learn more about the medical amnesty protocol and what happens when EST gets called.

Wednesday evening will feature a panel called, “What’s Up With Weed?” that will answer questions and dispel myths related to cannabis. Panelists will include Craig Schmid from the St. Louis Department of Health, Dr. Rick Grucza and Dr. Arpana Agrawal from Washington University School of Medicine and Brandon Costerion from the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (NCADA). They will also discuss the recent Missouri legislation that legalized medical marijuana.

“I am especially looking forward to the ‘What’s Up With Weed?’ panel and to hear more about the much-discussed laws surrounding marijuana use in Missouri,” Patel said. “Other Wash. U. students should definitely check it out; it’s a great opportunity to learn.”

The week will conclude with a Wash. U. Prescription Drug Drop-Off event in the DUC and a screening of the film “Beautiful Boy” on Thursday. The prescription drug drop-off event will be from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and is an opportunity for University employees and students to safely dispose of expired and unused medications free of charge.

“Beautiful Boy,” starring Steve Carell and Timothee Chalamet, tells the story of addiction and recovery. The screening and follow-up discussion will be held in Tisch Commons from 6:30 p.m.- 9:30 p.m.

“The prescription drug drop-off is always a good thing to highlight since it is still kind of a new thing that we have a drop box on campus,” Hoylman said. “And screening ‘Beautiful Boy’ was a really great way for us to bring a movie that is mainstream onto this campus and presented a great opportunity to partner with the Social Programming Board during the week.”