The public is invited to an upcoming town hall meeting in Jacksonville that will feature new research on marijuana use among youth.

The Our Community, Our Health forum will be from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, at the Center for the Prevention of Health Disparities at Edward Waters College, 1658 Kings Road. The event, sponsored by several UF Health entities, is free of charge, though registration is required.

The goal of these town hall meetings is to share innovative research and foster conversation and mutual understanding within the community. Thursday's meeting will also be broadcast via satellite in Jacksonville at Florida Blue – St. John’s Town Center, 4855 Town Center Pkwy; and Florida Blue – River City, 13141 City Station Drive.

Maureen Boyle, PhD, chief of the Science Policy Branch of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), will be the featured speaker, appearing via a real-time nationwide video broadcast. She will present research findings on adolescent marijuana use. A live question-and-answer session will follow Boyle’s presentation.

Thursday’s event will include actors from the University of Florida’s Arts in Medicine program. They will depict the journey of substance addiction and recovery for the audience. A local resident will share a personal recovery story as well.

Our Community, Our Health is sponsored in part by the UF College of Public Health and Health Professionals, the UF Clinical and Translational Science Institute and the UF College of Medicine.

Register for the event by visiting http://clk2.it/TcTfm1. For more information, contact Erick Edwing at (352) 294-4871 or eedwing1@ufl.edu.