Dr. Richard Hull to discuss the history of substance abuse in Warwick on Feb. 28

WARWICK — Dr. Richard Hull will present to members of the Warwick Valley Prevention Coalition and the general public on the history of substance use in the community.
The presentation will take place as part of the regular Warwick Valley Prevention Coalition meeting on Thursday, Feb. 28, at 6:30 p.m., at the Warwick Valley Community Center.
"Many people mistakenly see the current opioid epidemic as historically unprecedented yet," Hull said in the coalition's press release detailing the event. "It really goes back nearly three centuries and it has done untold harm and misery to so many local individuals, families and institutions.”
The need for historical contextIn his presentation, Hull will discuss different substances, such as alcohol, morphine, cocaine, heroin and medical opioids and their addictive properties.
He will trace the origins of each, the purveyors and their motivations, the means of distribution, how they became virtual epidemics in the community and public reaction.
"He hopes to place our current opioid crisis in broad historical context in hopes of better understanding how we got to where we are today and how best we can develop strategies to end it," said Ryan Caldwell, the recently appointed coordinator of the Warwick Valley Prevention Coalition. "This is a much-neglected chapter in our community’s history that urgently needs to be told."
About the speakerDr. Richard Hull is professor emeritus of History at New York University and official Town Historian of Warwick.
He is author of dozens of articles and books on the history of Warwick from the Native American era to the present.
Hull is currently creator and host of radio WTBQ’s weekly talk show, "History Alive’"
For many years he taught a graduate-level course on the history of epidemics and pandemics in global historical perspective.
About the coalitionThe Warwick Valley Prevention Coalition is a group of concerned parents, youth and community partners working to reduce alcohol and marijuana abuse among youth and to prevention initiation into all drug use by encouraging wise and healthy choices by all community members.
The coalition meets the fourth Thursday of every month at 6:30 p.m. at the Warwick Valley Community Center, 11 Hamilton Ave., Warwick.
Call Ryan Caldwell at 845-986-6422 for more information.