Drug: Cost & Consequences Programming: Alzheimer’s Lecture & Medical Marijuana Documentary

August 24th, 2019

(Albuquerque, New Mexico) – The New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science is hosting a lecture on Alzheimer’s disease and a documentary on medical marijuana. The programs are part of an ongoing roster of events related to the exhibitions Drugs: Costs & Consequences, Opening Eyes to the Damage Drugs Cause, from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Brain: The Inside Story . The Brain exhibit will be available to the public through November 10, 2019. The Drugs exhibit will be open til December 8, 2019.

Wednesday Sept. 11, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the Dynatheater.

Voices in Science Lecture: New Concepts in Alzheimer’s disease and Vascular Cognitive Impairment, featuring Gary Rosenberg, MD, Director of the University of New Mexico Center for Memory and Aging and professor of Neurology at UNM Health Sciences. UNM’s Center for Memory and Aging is the only center dedicated to diagnosing, treating and doing research that will impact the growing population, estimated to be over 43,000, of people in New Mexico who have some form of dementia. 

Dr. Rosenberg is one of the nation’s leading researchers in vascular dementia, researching biomarkers for the early identification of types of dementia in order to assess results of treatment trials. He will discuss the importance of controlling high blood pressure and other vascular risk factors in prevention of dementia, and new treatments that he and others are developing to slow the progress of cognitive decline. 

Preregistration is encouraged or tickets can be purchased at the door the evening of the event (if seats are available).   Cost: $8; $7 members; $5 students. Purchase Tickets Here.

Tuesday, Sept. 17, from 6:30-7:30 in the STEM lecture hall:

Documentary: "The Medicine in Marijuana"

Across centuries and cultures people have told stories about the healing powers of cannabis. Now the science is catching up with the stories. "The Medicine in Marijuana" is a documentary previously shown on New Mexico Public Broadcasting Service that tells stories of patients, practitioners and researchers here in New Mexico. The documentary provides the latest scientific information about what we know, and don’t know about cannabis use for a myriad of medical conditions including seizures, cancer, PTSD, epilepsy and chronic pain.

Cost is $8, $7 for museum members, and $5 for students. Pre-registration is encouraged or tickets can be purchased at the door the evening of the event.

Purchase Tickets Here

Drugs: Costs & Consequences programming continues through November with the following events.:

Wednesday-Friday, Oct. 23-31, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Celebrate Red Ribbon Week and “send a Message” (Family Event),

Children of all ages will be able to draw or write a message about drug use and abuse or create an ofrenda (memorial) to family members lost to addictive illness. Their work will be on display at the Museum Nov. 1-3. Hands-on project free with Museum admission.

 

Thursday, Nov. 7, 9:30-11 a.m. It Takes a Village: The Community Reinforcement Approach to Substance Abuse Treatment, (Curator’s Coffee),

V. Ann Waldorf, Ph.D. Dept. of Psychiatry & Behavioral Science, School of Medicine, UNM

Join this discussion about a new treatment approach for substance use disorders, formalized at UNM that include a component for family members. Cost: $8 (10 percent discount for members) includes a light breakfast. Preregistration required. Limit 20 participants. Register online, go to www.nmnaturalhistory.org. Questions: jayne.aubele@state.nm.us

 

Sept. 1, Oct. 6, and Nov. 3, 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

First Sundays through November

Attend a family-friendly presentation on the use and misuse of prescription medications given by students from UNM College of Pharmacy. Cost: Museum admission is Free to NM Residents. This program is free to all Museum visitors. Preregistration is not required. Ask at the Admissions Desk for direction to the Museum Classroom on the day of the event for either the 11 a.m. or 1 p.m. presentations. Questions: jayne.aubele@state.nm.us

 

About the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science: http://www.nmnaturalhistory.org.   The New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science is a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, under the leadership of the Board of Trustees of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science. Programs and exhibits are generously supported by the New Mexico Museum of Natural History Foundation, through the generous support of donors.

Established in 1986, the mission of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science is to preserve and interpret the distinctive natural and scientific heritage of our state through extraordinary collections, research, exhibits, and programs designed to ignite a passion for lifelong learning. The NMMNHS offers exhibitions, programs and workshops in Geoscience, including Paleontology and Mineralogy, Bioscience and Space Science. It is the Southwest’s largest repository for fossils and includes a Planetarium and a large format 3D DynaTheater.

1801 Mountain Road NW, northeast of Historic Old Town Plaza, Albuquerque, NM 87104, (505) 841-2800.  Open seven days a week 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Events, news releases and images about activities at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science and other divisions of the Department of Cultural Affairs can be accessed at media.newmexicoculture.org.