This course will introduce students to clinical research as it pertains to symptoms, behaviors, the prediction of violent behaviors and treatment outcomes among offenders who commit crime. The course will introduce students to evidenced based science and the application to forensic populations, manuscript preparation, clinical case write ups and small grant proposals.

This course will explore the general concepts, social consequences, policy, and other aspects of substance abuse and addiction. Multiple perspectives will be presented, including those of addicts, health-care providers, and family/friends affected by addiction. Then, commonly abused drugs will be discussed in detail. Topics to be presented and discussed for each drug class include: epidemiology, pathophysiology, drug class information, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics actions, short-term and long-term consequences of misuse (including overdose), and contemporary pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment modalities. Availability of resources used to address substance abuse will also be presented.