Sprekers
Chairman drs. E. C. (Edgard) Weening
Edgard Weening studied pharmacy at the University of Groningen from 1986 to 1994. His career as a pharmacist started at Apotheek Venema at the Vismarkt in Groningen, a wonderful learning environment in a pharmacy with a strong patient-oriented approach. Visibility of the pharmacist was a top priority at this pharmacy and after then this has always been his adagium. After a few years being managing pharmacist in a typical rural pharmacy in the Pekela’s, he returned to Groningen in 1998 as managing pharmacist of the newly formed Apotheek Hanzeplein. This pharmacy was the first 24-hour pharmacy in the Netherlands to work 24/7 with a minimum of 2 assistants. When in 2000 the opportunity arose to start a pharmacy himself, he started Apotheek Oostermoer in Gieten. Three dispensing practices of the local general practitioners were merged into this new pharmacy. During his time as a pharmacist, Weening always made personal patient care and medication guidance top priority in combination with close collaboration with general practitioners. Together with a dedicated team, this resulted in the election of the best pharmacy in Drenthe in 2015 and 2016. He has long been active in organizing education for colleagues and in policy, in the boards of the Drenthe and Groninger Apotheken Vereniging. He also worked for a while as an interim pharmacist at QPS and was a member of the Commissie Farmaceutische Hulp of the Health Insurance Board. In 2015 he merged Pharmacy Oostermoer with the Apothekers Combinatie Veendam. Ultimately, in 2017, he chose to end his career as an owner-pharmacist, and to start a new career as a lecturer-pharmacist in the Pharmacotherapy Epidemiology and Economics unit at the RUG.Focus areas are pharmacotherapy and internship pharmacy organization. In this he combines theoretical knowledge of pharmacology and pharmacotherapy with patient case studies and practical examples to optimally prepare students for their work as pharmacists, the ultimate pharmaceutical specialists. At the pharmacy organization, he encourages students to think critically about a vision for the future, a sustainable revenue model, and the added value of the pharmacy. He is also active in the Groningen Formularium Committee, the Royal Dutch Pharmacy Association (KNMP), the Pharmacy & MPS Admissions Committee, and provides education for pharmacists and assistants.
R. C. (Robert) van de Graaf
Dr. Robert C. van de Graaf was originally trained in plastic, reconstructive, and aesthetic surgery before transitioning into addiction medicine and the emerging field of lifestyle medicine. He is also one of the pioneers in the new discipline of performance medicine. Trained at leading institutions including at the Universities of Amsterdam, Antwerp, and Groningen, and at University College London (UCL) he has become an expert in influencing behaviour related to addiction, lifestyle, and performance—on individual, group, organisational, and societal levels. As one of the founders of the Dutch Smoke-Free Generation and Smoke-Free Healthcare movements, Dr. Van de Graaf has been a leading voice in (inter)national prevention and cultural transformation. He is the founder of Perform Health Clinic, where he helps individuals including healthcare professionals—address complex addiction, lifestyle, and performance challenges.His coaching focuses on achieving healthy, sustainable, and optimal performance through behavioural insight and system-level change. Dr. Van de Graaf frequently lectures at national and international conferences and has served as an advisor to the Dutch Ministry of Health and other governmental bodies across Europe. He is co-author of several national guidelines and textbooks on lifestyle, addiction, and psychopharmacology, including the Practical Handbook for Lifestyle Coaches: Evidence-Based Techniques, the Handbook of Addiction Psychiatry, and Lifestyle Medicine, as well as works on the psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy of addiction.Pharmacy students stand at a unique intersection of knowledge and temptation. Their expertise in psychoactive substances enhances scientific understanding but also exposes them to personal and professional risks. This lecture explores addiction and substance use from multiple perspectives: the student’s own potential vulnerability, the growing demand for pharmaceutical expertise within illegal drug production, and the oral responsibility that comes with future professional roles in medication and health care.The session challenges participants to reflect on how knowledge, curiosity, and ethics interact in shaping healthy professional identity. It invites discussion on the blurred lines between use, misuse, and addiction, and explores how pharmacy professionals can serve as role models in promoting responsible behaviour—both within healthcare and in society at large.
Dr. J. (Jeroen) Roosendaal
Jeroen Roosendaal studied Pharmacy at Utrecht University and graduated in 2015. After graduation, he began his PhD research at the Department of Pharmacy & Pharmacology of the Netherlands Cancer Institute, supervised by Dr. Hilde Rosing and Prof. Dr. Jos Beijnen.During the same period, he became a licensed clinical pharmacologist through the Dutch Society for Clinical Pharmacology & Biopharmacy (NVKF&B). In 2019, he defended his PhD thesis, “Approaches to Improve the Quality and Efficiency of Clinical Pharmacological Trialsin Oncology.” In September 2019, he started as a forensic toxicologist-in-training at the Netherlands Forensic Institute in The Hague. Since 2022, he has worked as a licensed forensic toxicologist; he obtained European Registered Toxicologist (ERT) status in 2023 and was included in the Netherlands Register of Court Experts (NRGD) in 2024. His work focuses onforensic toxicology casework, analytical method development and implementation, and the conduct and supervision of research projects in postmortem toxicology.At the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI), casework spans both antemortem and postmortem toxicology in a legal context. To choose the right analytical strategy and to correctly interpret the test results, contextual information, for example whether someone may have a substance use disorder at the time of the event, is highly desirable. Such context can sharpen hypotheses, streamline testing, and increase confidence in the final conclusions. In practice, however, such context is often limited or unavailable, which makes interpretation more challenging.In this presentation, we show how “hidden traces” within the body can still reveal an individual’s drug-use history. We will discuss which matrices and markers can indicate chronic use, abstinence, or recent re-exposure. Using case examples, we illustrate how these insights contribute to answering questions about cause of death, criminal responsibility, and scenario evaluation. The session offers practical takeaways for future pharmacists and toxicologists to justify analytical choices, recognize pitfalls, and interpret results responsibly when a subject’s past is not readily available.
Dr. J. (Hanne) Rozema
Hanne studied Pharmacy in Groningen and graduated in 2018. After graduation, she conducted PhD research at the University of Groningen (RUG), focusing on hemato-oncological patients in Frisian hospitals, while also working as a pharmacist at the Medical Center Leeuwarden (MCL) since 2020. She obtained her PhD on October 31, 2022, and since June 2022, Hanne has been training as a hospital pharmacist at the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG). Within her training, she has further specialized in Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) and toxicology.A drug screening, also known as a Drugs of Abuse (DOA) screening, can be applied in various settings and situations — for example, in cases of acute intoxication, addiction care, or occupational and traffic medicine. It provides insight into recent drug use, can support clinical decision-making and treatment, and forms the basis for follow-up actions, such as confirmatory testing after positive screening results.A DOA screening in urine is performed using an immunoassay and serves as a qualitative screening test. During this presentation, we will explore the principles of DOA screening, the pitfalls in interpretation, cannabis reuse, and the possibilities for confirmatory testing. Theoretical aspects will be illustrated using case studies.
Prof. Dr. A. (Arie) Dijkstra
Professor Dr. Arie Dijkstra obtained his Ph.D. from Maastricht University as a Health Scientist. He worked as a KNAW fellow at Leiden University and as a Vidi laureate at the University of Groningen. He currently holds the chair of Social Psychology of Health and Illness at the University of Groningen. His expertise lies in the field of behavior change and behavior modification. With his team of doctoral students, he conducts scientific research in this field, using both laboratory experiments and cohort studies, as well as quasi-experiments in the general population. His goal is to develop and test innovative theories and intervention methods related to behavior change in the context of physical health. He has developed and tested various types of effective interventions. Dijkstra is a member of the editorial boards of several top journals, and he served as the editor of Addictive Behaviors for many years. He enjoys publishing in international peer-reviewed scientific journals and has an extensive national and international professional network.Addictive behaviours are very common. They are characterized by the combination of: 1. Repeatedly engaging in a valued behavior; 2. With substantial drawback; 3. Failed attempts to quit the behavior;4. The use of psychological mechanisms that deny the problem. In this psychological conceptualization, people can get addicted to nail biting, heroin, tobacco smoking or any effective or even inert pharmaceutical compound. To understand these behaviours we must understand their psychological roots. Once these are known, it becomes clear how behavior change and intervention techniques can be applied to guide people in behavior change.
Dr. M. G. (Matthijs) Bossong
Matthijs Bossong is a neuroscientist and registered pharmacologist specializing in the relationship between cannabis, brain function and psychiatric disorders. He currently serves as Head of Clinical Research at Bedrocan, the world’s most experienced producer of standardized medicinal cannabis, and as an Academic Teacher at Leiden University. He obtained his PhD from Utrecht University in 2012, with a dissertation on the role of the endocannabinoid system in brain functions relevant to psychiatric disorders. His research focused on the acute effects of cannabis on the human brain, using advanced neuroimaging techniques. Bossong has held research positions at UMC Utrecht, King’s College London, Trimbos Institute and Leiden University, and has led multiple national and international projects on cannabis, psychosis and novel treatment strategies. His work has been supported by several prestigiousresearch grants, including the NWO Rubicon and VENI Fellowship. He has authored over 65 international peer-reviewed scientific publications and is a frequent lecturer at international conferences, master’s programs and postgraduate training courses.
B. (Bill) de Smeth
Prevention Specialist at Addiction Care Northern Netherlands
Hi! My name is Bill de Smeth, and since 2016 I’ve been working in the Education & Prevention department of Addiction Care Northern Netherlands (VNN). As a prevention specialist, I provide training, education, and advice with the aim of preventing or reducing problematic substance use. Over the past seven years, I’ve beenactively involved in this work in the municipality of Groningen, specifically for and with students in higher education.As a staff member of the drug testing service, I’ve gained extensive knowledge about various substances, their effects, risks, and more.How common is it to use XTC at a festival? Is there such a thing as responsible drug use? And what do the latest studies teach us about new psychoactive substances (NPS)?In honor of your 144th anniversary, I’d love to engage in a conversation with you about these topics!
