
Emerging Illicit Substances: What Clinicians Need to Know
-
Register
- Non-Member - $39
- Regular Member - $29
- Retired - $29
- Early Career Physician - $29
- Resident - $19
- Student - $19
- Associate - $19
- ASAM Staff - Free!
- International Member - $29
- Emeritus Member - $29
- Provisional Member - $29
- Fellow Member - $29
- Honorary Member - $29
- CRT Member - $29
Emerging Illicit Substances: What Clinicians Need to Know
Recorded: Thursday, April 24, 2025 to Sunday, April 27, 2025
On-Demand Session
Overview
This 75-minute on-demand session from the ASAM 56th Annual Conference addresses the pharmacology, epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment of emerging intoxicating substances, including tianeptine, nitazenes, kratom, bromazolam and other novel benzodiazepines, stimulants, alpha-2 agonists, and NMDA antagonists
This presentation will describe epidemiological trends in emerging substances of misuse, highlighting novel benzodiazepines, NMDA antagonists, antidepressants, synthetic opioids, and novel stimulants among others. We will describe the pharmacology of these substances and extrapolate the expected clinical signs and symptoms of intoxication and withdrawal. Clinical identification and treatment of patients intoxicated or in withdrawal from these substances will be discussed as will the available methods of drug testing and test data dissemination.
The target audience for this Intermediate level session includes physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, other clinicians, researchers, residents, fellows, students, and counselors.
This session addresses the following ACGME Competencies:Medical Knowledge, Practice-based Learning and Improvement.
This session addresses the following IPEC Competencies: Roles and Responsibilities.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion, learners will be able to:
- Describe epidemiological changes in the emerging illicit and unregulated drug supply: tianeptine, synthetic opioids, kratom, benzodiazepines, ketamine and other NMDA antagonists, additives and alpha-2 agonists.
- Understand the pharmacology of emerging substances: tianeptine, synthetic opioids, kratom, bromazolam and other benzodiazepines, ketamine and other NMDA antagonists and medetomidine and other alpha-2 agonists.
- Identify strategies for bedside clinical and laboratory diagnosis of patients presenting intoxicated or withdrawing from in the context of an evolving drug supply
Registration Rates
Rate Description | Rate |
ASAM Member | $29 |
Non-Member | $39 |
Associate Member | $19 |
Resident Member* | $19 |
Student Member* | $19 |
*Residents, Fellows-in-training, Interns, and Students must join ASAM to receive a discounted registration rate. Click here to become an ASAM member. National and Chapter membership dues apply. There is no charge for Students to become a Member, but verification of student status is required.
Membership Question? Call ASAM at 1.301.656.3920, email us, or view the ASAM website for more information.
Refunds & Cancellations
All ASAM eLearning Center refund requests must be made in writing to education@asam.org within 90 days of purchase. Those requesting refunds for courses that are in progress will receive partial refunds or e-Learning Center credit. Automatic full refunds will be made for any course with a live-course component that has been cancelled.
Registration Open: 05/26/2025 - 04/26/2028
User Access Closed: 05/26/2028
Course Instructions
- Click on the Contents tab to watch the on-demand recording.
- Click Complete Post Test to answer multiple choice questions. Participants will have 10 attempts to pass and must answer 4 out of 5 questions correctly.
- Click Complete Evaluation to provide valuable activity feedback. Scroll down on all questions as there may be answer options that expand past the size of the window.
- Click the button Claim Medical Credits in the box titled Claim Credits & Certificate. Choose the type of credit and click submit. Click the button View/Print Certificate to save or print your certificate. You can view/print your certificate at any time by visiting the ASAM eLearning Center, clicking Dashboard, and clicking Transcript/Achievements.
- For Pharmacists ONLY: Complete the task entitled "Enter Pharmacist CPE Monitor Information (Pharmacists Only)". Pharmacists must claim credit and provide their eProfile ID and Birthdate via the Pharmacist CPE Monitor Information survey within 30 days of completing the activity. ASAM will not report CPE Credits claimed 30+ days after activity completion to ACPE. ASAM will not report CPE Credits without accurate and complete information. Courses offering CPE Credit will indicate the amount of credit available for pharmacists on the Credits & Disclosure Tab.
Need Assistance?
For assistance logging in, accessing activities, claiming credit, or for other questions or concerns, please check the FAQ page or e-mail Education@ASAM.org
ASAM is proud to offer Essential Accessibility to ensure our website is accessible and functional for all our learners while providing free assistive technology for people with the widest possible range of abilities.

Alaina R. Steck
MD
Alaina R. Steck, MD is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Grady Memorial Hospital, in the Emory Department of Emergency Medicine. She completed her residency training in Emergency Medicine at Boston Medical Center in Boston, MA and her fellowship in Medical Toxicology at the Emory / Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Combined Fellowship in Medical Toxicology, followed by board certification in Addiction Medicine. She currently serves as the Medical Director of the Grady Medication-Assisted Opioid Treatment clinic, clerkship director for Medical Toxicology, Assistant Director at the Georgia Poison Center, and co-chair of the Drug Safety Task Force of the Injury Prevention Research Center at Emory.
No relevant financial relationships

Dr. Jeanmarie Perrone, MD
Professor of Emergency Medicine and Medical Toxicology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Jeanmarie Perrone, MD is a Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine, the Director of the Division of Medical Toxicology and the founding Director of the Center for Addiction Medicine and Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Perrone has led numerous investigations and initiatives in opioid stewardship and ED treatment of Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) with buprenorphine. She serves on several regional and national task forces and advisory committees with the State of Pennsylvania, the CDC and FDA addressing judicious opioid use and MOUD treatment access. She has advocated at the state and national level for harm reduction and ED treatment for OUD and is a co-investigator in a 30 site NIDA sponsored trial of ED buprenorphine. Dr. Perrone has been featured in prominent news media including the New York Times, USA Today and National Public Radio and published in the New England Journal of Medicine and JAMA . She has won numerous awards for education and mentorship of students, residents and fellows and is boarded in emergency medicine, medical toxicology and addiction medicine.

Rachel S. Wightman
MD
Rachel S. Wightman, MD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. She is the Director of Toxicology Education at Brown Emergency Medicine and serves as faculty of the Addiction Medicine Fellowship at Brown. She completed medical toxicology fellowship and emergency medicine residency at New York University School of Medicine/ Bellevue Hospital Center. She is board certified in medical toxicology and emergency medicine.
Dr. Wightman’s primary clinical expertise is in the evaluation and management of drug toxicity syndromes in complex medical patients and enhancing medication safety for high-risk drugs. Her scholarly interests focus on evaluation and tracking of emerging drug trends and medications for treatment of opioid use disorder.

Daniel Sessions, MD, FACMT, FAAEM
Senior Lecturer
University of Queensland, Ochsner Clinical School
Dr. Daniel J Sessions MD is the Chief of the Division of Medical Toxicology at Ochsner Health Foundation. He is a senior lecturer in Emergency Medicine at the University of Queensland, Ochsner Clinical School in New Orleans, LA. He received his medical doctorate from the LSU-New Orleans School of Medicine. He was a Chief Resident in Emergency Medicine during his training at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, TX. He completed his medical toxicology fellowship at Rocky Mountain Poison & Drug Center at Denver Health.
After completing his training, Dr. Sessions returned to Brooke Army Medical Center where he served as the Director of Medical Toxicology. His Graduate Medical Education service included: Research Director of the Emergency Medicine Residency, Associate Program Director in Emergency Medicine, and Transitional Year Internship Associate Program Director. He served as a consulting toxicologist for the South Texas Poison Center, Army Substance Abuse Program, and Dept. of Defense ADVISOR system. After completion of his military service, he became board-certified in Addiction Medicine and practiced Addiction Medicine and Toxicology at Abbot Northwestern Hospital and Minnesota Poison Control in Minneapolis, MN.
He is currently a senior lecturer in Emergency Medicine at the University of Queensland, Ochsner Clinical School in New Orleans, LA, and part of the Emergency Medicine Residency Faculty. He provides Forensic Toxicology services through Expert Toxicology, LLC. His primary areas of interest are addiction medicine, envenomation, drug testing, and performance-enhancing drugs and supplements.
Accreditation & Credit Designation Statements
Joint Accreditation Statement

In support of improving patient care, the American Society of Addiction Medicine is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
Physicians
The American Society of Addiction Medicine designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Nurses
This activity awards 1.25 Nursing contact hours.

PAs
ASAM has been authorized by the American Academy of PAs (AAPA) to award AAPA Category 1.25 CME credit for activities planned in accordance with AAPA CME Criteria. This activity is designated for 1.25 AAPA Category 1 CME credits. Approval is valid until 05/06/2028. PAs should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation.
Pharmacology Hours
This activity has .50 hour that satisfies the requirements for NP and PA Pharmacology Hours.
Pharmacists
This activity will offer 1.25 pharmacy contact hours (.125 CEUs). Pharmacists will be asked to provide identifying information (e-Profile ID and DOB in MMDD format) in order to receive credit and allow reporting to CPE Monitor. (UAN: JA0000141-0000-25-021-H01)
Note for pharmacists: Not all courses offer CPE Credit. For courses that do offer CPE Credit, pharmacists must claim credit and provide their eProfile ID and Birthdate via the Pharmacist CPE Monitor Information survey within 30 days of completing the activity.
ASAM will not report CPE Credits claimed 30+ days after activity completion to ACPE. ASAM will not report CPE Credits without accurate and complete information.
Social Workers
As a Jointly Accredited Organization, ASAM is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. Social workers completing this course receive 1.25 general continuing education credits.
IPCE Credit
This activity was planned by and for the healthcare team, and learners will receive 1.25 Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) credits for learning and change.
California Association for Drug/Alcohol Educators (CAADE)
This educational program is approved by CAADE: #CP40 999 1225.
California Association of DUI Treatment Centers (CADTP)
This educational program is approved by CADTP: #205.
California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals (CCAPP)
This educational program is approved by CCAPP: #OS-20-330-1224.
Other Professions - Continuing Education Credits (CEUs)
Upon completion of the activity and online evaluation, all other participants may request a certificate of participation. Participants may submit this certificate of participation to their professional organization/institute as documentation for completing this accredited continuing activity.
Maintenance of Certification (MOC) or Continuing Certification Programs (CCP)
This activity is designed to meet the requirements for MOC/CCP for several primary physician boards and for state licensing CME requirements. MOC Credit is only reported and designated for ABA, ABIM, ABP and ABS. By completing the online credit claim and evaluation, the learner permits ASAM to report credits to the appropriate Board. Learn more.
American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA)
Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 1.25 Medical Knowledge MOC points and patient safety MOC credit in the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. Participants will earn MOC points equivalent to the amount of CME credits claimed for the activity. It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.
American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA)
This activity offers up to 1.25 CME credits, of which 1.25 credits contribute the patient safety CME component of the American Board of Anesthesiology’s redesigned Maintenance of Certification in AnesthesiologyTM (MOCA®) program, known as MOCA 2.0®. Please consult the ABA website, www.theABA.org, for a list of all MOCA 2.0 requirements.
Maintenance of Certification in Anesthesiology® and MOCA® are registered certification marks of the American Board of Anesthesiology®
American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM)
Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 1.25 Medical Knowledge MOC points and patient safety MOC credit in the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. Participants will earn MOC points equivalent to the amount of CME credits claimed for the activity. It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.
American Board of Pediatrics (ABP)
Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the learner to earn up to 1.25 MOC points in the American Board of Pediatrics’ (ABP) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. It is the CME activity provider’s responsibility to submit learner completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABP MOC credit.
American Board of Preventive Medicine (ABPM)
This activity has been designed to satisfy the Lifelong Professional Development requirements of The American Board of Preventive Medicine’s Continuing Certification (CCP) requirements. These credits are not reported directly to ABPM. Please save your certificate for your records.
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN)
This activity has been designed to satisfy the CME requirements of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology’s Continuing Certification (CC) requirements. These credits are not reported directly to ABPN. Please save your certificate for your records.
American Board of Surgery (ABS)
Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the learner to earn credit toward the CME requirement of the American Board of Surgery’s Continuous Certification program. It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit learner completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABS credit.
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC)
The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada will recognize activities registered for CME for MOC as meeting the requirements for Royal College MOC Program Section 3 (Self-Assessment Programs) credits. Visit CME that Counts for Royal College MOC for more information.
Disclosure Information
In accordance with the disclosure policies of ASAM and Joint Accreditation, the effort is made to ensure balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all accredited continuing education activities. These policies include identifying and mitigating all relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies for those involved in the creation and dissemination of accredited continuing education. Click here to view the full disclosure listing.
Key:




