Forensic Scientist Zach Blaksmith and addiction medicine physican Dr. John Lehtinen will present “Drugs: More Dangerous Than You Think” at Northern Michigan University. Their talk begins at  7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23, in the Jamrich Hall Auditorium. A question-and-answer session will follow. The NMU Forensic Biochemistry Club is sponsoring the event, which is free and open to the public. 

Blaksmith will present “What’s in Your Drugs?” He will talk about his experience analyzing confiscated drugs and how those drugs can be laced with other dangerous substances..Lehtinen, the only board-certified addiction medicine physician in the Upper Peninsula, will present “The Addicted Brain.”

Blaksmith works in the controlled substance and toxicology units at the Michigan State Police Crime Lab in Marquette. He is also a member of the Crime Scene Response Team, responding to major crime scenes across the Upper Peninsula. He is a firefighter and EMT in Sands Township, where he has been working and volunteering in emergency medical services for 14 years.

Lehtinen practices addiction medicine, sports medicine and occupational medicine at UP Health System Marquette. He has been practicing in Marquette for more than 36 years. He is the team physician for NMU and is a volunteer assistant coach for NMU’s hockey team.