WILMINGTON — A leading expert on the opiate epidemic in Ohio will be the featured presenter at a special public forum to be hosted by the “You-Turn” Recovery Docket in the Clinton County Common Pleas Courtroom the afternoon of Tuesday, Oct. 6.
Judge John W. “Tim” Rudduck established the specialized docket for drug offenders in the fall of 2014 within the Clinton County Court of Common Pleas. It was certified by the specialized dockets section of the Ohio Supreme Court in June of this year.
Orman Hall, the manager of the specialized docket section of the Ohio Supreme Court, will speak at 3 p.m. focusing his comments on the nature of opiate addiction, the scope of opiate addiction in Ohio, and the role of medication-assisted treatment for addicts.
Hall is the former director of the Governor’s Cabinet Opiate Action Team and the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services. He also served as the executive director of the Fairfield County ADAMH Board and chairman of the Fairfield County Opiate Task Force.
He has more than 25 years of experience in the management, planning, monitoring and evaluation of public mental health and substance abuse services. A graduate of Marshall University, Hall holds a master’s degree in social science education and a bachelor’s degree in education.
Hall’s presentation lasts 15-20 minutes, leaving plenty of time for questions, Judge Rudduck said.
Preceding Hall’s talk will be a regular status review hearing for drug court participants at 1:30 p.m. and a 2:30 meeting of the docket’s steering committee, one of two per year required for certification.
Following Hall’s presentation at 4 p.m. there will be updates on the local opiate prevention coalition and the Hope for Heroin Event planned for Oct. 9-10 in Wilmington.
The general public is invited to attend any or all of the events. Physicians, law enforcement officers, emergency medicine technicians, pharmacists, attorneys, and treatment providers are particularly encouraged to attend because of Hall’s topic, Rudduck said.
“We encourage anyone to attend who is concerned about the opiate epidemic and have thoughts and concerns they wish to share,” Judge Rudduck said. “It is obvious no one organization or person will solve this epidemic in our community or any community. We want to continue the dialogue and progress since the court held a forum on this issue in the summer of 2014.”
For more information on the “You-Turn” Recovery Docket, go to www.you-turn-drug-docket.com and social media sites Twitter (YouTurn@Uturndrugdocket) and Facebook (You-Turn Recovery Docket).
For more information on drug courts, go the National Association of Drug Court Professionals site at www.nadcp.org.
