Thursday, October 16, 2025

4:00 PM - 5:30 PM

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Details

This session will give attendees an overview of recently completed research and provide an update on current and upcoming clinical trials from local and international researchers, discussing potential future pharmacotherapeutic options for people who use stimulants. Attendees will hear about the current state of stimulant use and treatment in South Africa, as well as the impact of stimulant use globally, and the current work of the UNODC addressing stimulant use and harm reduction globally. This will be followed by a lived experience perspective of supporting people who use stimulants through treatment as an informed journey towards person centred outcomes and positive change, discussing how medication, psychosocial support, and community mobilisation can all help build the political 2 capital of people who use stimulant drugs so they can set their treatment goals and shape their care plan. New and upcoming research into medications that might help people reduce or cease their stimulant use will be presented, and the talks will conclude with a presentation of the lived experience of being a woman and mother using methamphetamine in South Africa and the impact of stigma and harm reduction. The session will end with an interactive discussion, where the audience will be invited to provide their thoughts and opinions surrounding future directions in stimulant treatment, overcoming barriers and what meaningful treatment outcomes look like to them.

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Speaker