Nationally, and in Kentucky, provisional CDC data for the past 12 months suggest a year-to-year increase in overdose and overdose fatalities.  Similarly, the 2019 and 2023 UK Extension Statewide Community Needs Assessments indicated substance use prevention and recovery as the top priority area in most of the 120 Kentucky counties.  Unfortunately, Kentucky remains the epicenter of the opioid epidemic and the rising twin stimulant epidemic.  

Research demonstrates a critical need for broad-based addiction training to inform practitioners, people with substance use disorders, their family, and members of the general public.  In response to this dire need for training, the United States Speaker program, via the US Department of State, contacted me regarding the potential for an international program aimed at improving communities' understanding of addiction and their ability to respond effectively.  The US Speaker Program in Washington, DC coordinates virtual and in-person speaking engagements between American experts and foreign audiences.  In collaboration with the US embassy in Mexico City, Mexico, I partnered with the US Department of State to offer an Addiction 101 virtual program tailored to the specific needs of local Mexican communities.  In cooperation with dozens of Mexican non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and aided by the use of innovative technologies and other public diplomacy resources, the program has been amplified to an estimated 25,000 individuals in Mexico and the United States.

Previous research has shown that Addiction 101 is a effective broad-based training (Elswick et al., 2025; Huff et al., 2024).  Participants report improvements in understanding of addiction, understanding of how addiction impacts the brain, as well as increased confidence in using destigmatizing language and delivering outreach and programming to people with SUDs.

The benefits of this program were multifaceted.  First, the program directly improved understanding of addiction for directly impacted individuals and families who may use this information to take more effective approaches to addressing their SUDs.  Second, the program directly improved the knowledge and skills of thousands of practitioners working with vulnerable families.  And third, and perhaps most importantly, this kind of international effort increases the scope and status of UK Extension substance use prevention and recovery programing.