The conference aims at bringing closer some research about the effects of drugs when they are taken during the adolescence. Neurochemical changes produced by consumption are dangerous because they lead to dependence and addiction and finally, these can cause psychopathological disorders. Among alterations: decrease in executive functions, memory, low academic performance and psychosis.

Miñarro warns about the significant number of youth population that consumes alcohol and cannabis and the medium- and long-term consequences cause alterations in their development: “Studies indicates that the consumption of cannabis and alcohol in Spain and also in Europe is between the age of 14 and 15. The prevalence of the consumption of alcohol among young people between the ages of 14 and 18 in the last 12 months is about an 80%. On the opposite, regarding cannabis, the rate is 30%.  The 32% of young people binge and out of these, 21% also consume cannabis. It is important to point out that alcohol is present in the 90% of the poly-consumption. 

The programme ‘Art i Ment’ is a sociocultural intervention project promoted by the Office of the Vice-Principal for Culture and Equality of the Universitat de València from this academic year. The setting up of this programme has been possible thanks to the General Foundation of the UV and the implication of a great number of entities: Caixa Popular, Per Amor a l’Art Foundation, Antonia Mir Foundation, Berklee College of Music of Valencia, the Faculty of Psychology of the UV (Master’s Degree in Drug Dependence: Research, Treatment and Drug Pathologies), the Professional School of Music of Valencia, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Associació ÀMBIT, Fundación por la Justicia, IVAJ (Generalitat Jove) and the public schools Cervantes, Dr. Oloriz, Primer Marqués del Turia, Mestalla and Nuestra Señora de los Desamparados.

The professor José Miñarro is the full university professor of Psychology of the Universitat de València. He manages the Psychobiology of Drug Dependencies Research Unit and the Master’s Degree in Drug Dependence: Research, Treatment and Drug Pathologies He has completed research stages in different laboratories and universities in United Kingdom, France and USA. He has been a visiting professor in Rockefeller University (NY) during the 2011/2012 academic year.  And as a main researcher, he has enjoyed continuously several research projects funded by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, Institute of Health Carlos III and the Generalitat Valenciana, within the programmes (R+D). 

Regarding these programmes, it is important to highlight the concession of PROMETEO project for top research groups. This belongs to the Spanish Network on Addictive Disorders (RECTICS), composed of several research groups in biomedicine. In this day and age, he has more than 100 publications in international journals included in the ‘Science Citation Index’ with a large impact and, different chapters in research books.