Sessions

What is now hitting our streets and what can we expect in communities in the opioid world. 

Introduction to Interdiction for the Protection of Children (IPC) is an overview of the Texas Department of Public Safety’s multidisciplinary approach to train law enforcement officers to take a victim-centered approach to identify and rescue endangered or exploited children and identify those who pose a high-risk threat to a child during routine traffic enforcement, such as traffic stops.

This intermediate-level course is designed to equip law enforcement, prosecutors, treatment providers, and educators with essential knowledge of psychedelic substances—both traditional and emerging—for use in field response, investigation, and policy awareness. Psychedelic drugs have existed for millennia and have traveled a rich historical journey. In their early use, they were considered sacred by some cultures, often for spiritual and healing rituals, while being demonized by others for their mind-altering effects. Today, they are often recommended to treat an ever-lengthening list of problems, including depression, anxiety, addiction, PTSD, and chronic pain. As the psychedelic interest grows and we enter a “psychedelic renaissance”, many counties and states are making these substances more accessible for people who want to explore their perceived benefits, while others are interested in their hallucinogenic effects. This workshop explores the origin, cultural background, physiological and psychological effects, and physical identifiers of a broad range of psychedelics, including both classic compounds and new synthetic analogues. Upon completion, attendees will have a comprehensive understanding of how to recognize psychedelic substances and their effects, respond to related incidents with informed strategies, and adapt to the evolving legal and cultural landscape surrounding these drugs.

Learning Objectives:

Upon completion of this training, attendees will be able to:

1. Identify many of the psychedelics, including their appearance, packaging, odors, paraphernalia, and behavioral indicators.

2. Have a better understanding of the pharmacological and psychological effects, including altered perception, risk factors, and overdose scenarios caused by psychedelics.

3. Have a better understanding of the growing intersection of psychedelics and mental health care and how therapeutic use is influencing public policy and law enforcement roles.

Youth experiencing substance use challenges often encounter systems that are reactive, fragmented, or punitive—pushing them further into cycles of justice involvement or crisis. The Assessment Center Framework offers a powerful alternative: a coordinated, cross-system response that diverts youth from formal processing and connects them to individualized, developmentally appropriate supports. This session will introduce the Assessment Center approach and its role in early identification, family engagement, and service navigation for youth facing substance use, mental health, or behavioral challenges. Participants will gain insight into how Assessment Centers serve as a trusted, trauma-informed front door to care—especially for youth who might otherwise be arrested, suspended, or overlooked.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the Assessment Center Framework and how it provides a community-based alternative to justice system involvement for youth in crisis.
• Identify effective practices for using Assessment Centers to respond to youth substance use, including screening, service matching, and warm handoffs.
• Understand how cross-sector partnerships within Assessment Centers—including law enforcement, schools, and behavioral health—can reduce duplication and improve outcomes.

In an era of evolving synthetic opioids, this advanced session offers critical insight into emerging threats—specifically fentanyl analogues, nitazenes, and concealed adulterants—and their high addiction potential. Participants will explore volatile drug trends, distinctive impairment characteristics, detection challenges, and operational implications. Through case studies and data-driven analysis, attendees will learn how dependence risks, hidden mixtures, and toxicological limitations influence enforcement strategies and forensic interpretation.

Who Should Attend:

• Law enforcement officers and supervisors managing field detection, impairment assessment, and opioid-related enforcement protocols.
• School and institutional administrators responsible for substance use response, policy setting, and safety planning.
• Forensic toxicologists, clinicians, and researchers specializing in synthetic opioid detection, drug trend surveillance, and investigations.

Key Features:

• Trend overview of synthetic opioids such as acetylfentanyl, furanylfentanyl, carfentanil, and potent nitazene analogues like isotonitazene and protonitazene, many of which exhibit potency and addiction risk far exceeding fentanyl.
• Addiction potential: discussion of the high dependence and withdrawal severity linked to nitazenes and analogues, including their reinforcement through use and association with clusters of overdose deaths.
• Impairment traits and behavioral profiles: understanding signs and duration of intoxication with emerging opioids and how they differ from traditional presentations.
• Toxicological challenges: the limitations of standard screens, requirements for advanced assays and mass-spec, and the prevalence of undetected nitazene contamination.
• Contamination and adulteration issues: risk from nitazenes mixed unknowingly in heroin, counterfeit pills, or stimulants, complicating impairment detection and treatment responses.
• Operational insights: guidance on improved awareness, evidence collection procedures, naloxone use (often higher doses), and law enforcement adaptations in unpredictable opioid landscapes.

Learning Outcomes:

By session’s end, participants will be able to:

1. Define the pharmacology, high potency, and addiction potential of fentanyl analogues and nitazene opioids.
2. Recognize impairment characteristics and withdrawal indicators that distinguish emerging opioids from other substances.
3. Identify toxicology limitations and recognize when traditional testing may miss significant opioid exposure.
4. Anticipate risks posed by adulterated mixtures and evolving drug trends to strengthen enforcement and emergency response protocols.