The 10th Edition of the official Master’s Degree in Drug Dependence: Research, Treatment and Drug Pathologies 2019-20 was inaugurated on Monday 4th November, in the Salón de Grados of the Faculty of Psychology.

The Principal of the Universitat de València, Maria Vicenta Mestre, together with the Director of Public Health and Addictions of the Generalitat Valenciana (Valencian Government) Ofelia Gimeno; the Dean of the Faculty of Psychology, Maria Dolores Sancerni; the President of the scientific society SOCIDROGALCOHOL, Francisco Pascual Pastor; and the Director of the Department of Psychobiology of the Faculty of Psychology of the Universitat and the Master’s Degree Director, José Miñarro, presided over the inaugural ceremony of the 10th edition of the Master’s Degree in Drug Dependence: Research, Treatment and Drug Pathologies .

The Principal Maria Vicenta Mestre has outlined the importance of the cooperation between the Universitat and local and autonomic governments, as in the case of this Master’s Degree, “in order to coordinate a coherent and planned response to the problem of addictions”.  “Masters such as this, where teaching, research and knowledge transfer come together are so useful and necessary for our society and which the key role of the Universitat de València is manifested”, she assured.

The General Director Ofelia Gimeno has reminded that addictions unfortunately affect all ages and that “only from new perspectives of research and teaching, we will be able to adequately fight this problem, perspectives and challenges addressed by this Master’s Degree”.

For her part, Dean Mª Dolores Sancerni encouraged the students present by stating that “even though this Master's Degree is very hard, more than 80% of the students who have completed it are currently working, it shows that, if you make an effort, you will obtain a reward”.

Francisco Pascual Pastor has stated that “the final objective is that addictive disorders can be considered diseases in order to receive the necessary attention and considerations, as well as to eliminate the negative connotations that society has towards these pathologies”.

Director José Miñarro gave a brief summary of the ten years of the Master's Degree and highlighted the importance of comprehensive education for students, “as the Master's Degree includes the latest research on the subject, quality teaching and a high degree of knowledge transfer to society”.

Subsequently, the inaugural conference ‘Reflexiones sobre la situación actual de las adicciones’ (Reflections on the current situation of addictions) was held by the Doctor, specialist in Preventive Medicine and Public Health and collaborator of the Government Delegation for the National Drugs Plan, Julia González.

Drug dependence is one of the major public health problems in developed countries. Drug abuse affects the entire population, and the illegal ones have a greater prevalence in the younger population, creating in all of them disability and great morbidity for the suffering of many different pathologies. Addiction is a chronic disease characterized by the loss of control over the patient's use of a substance. This substance occupies a pre-eminent place in the life of the individual, affecting not only the normal balance of his/her/its vital functions, but also the role of his/her/its behaviours and his/her/its environment, through the issues generated by the behaviours imposed by drugs on the individual.

The complexity of the management of drug addicts requires a specialization that includes a training with a strong multidisciplinary character that the Master’s Degree in Drug Dependence: Research, Treatment and Drug Pathologies offers.

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