Dean's Seminar: The Opioid Epidemic: Pharma, Pills, People, Police and Philadelphia

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

3:30 PM-5:00 PM

Join the College of Arts and Sciences for a panel discussion on the Opioid Epidemic, featuring:

• Chuck Ramsey, Distinguished Visiting Fellow of the Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation and former Philadelphia police commissioner (Moderator)
• Courtenay Bond, freelance reporter and writer
• Angela Colistra, PhD, assistant clinical professor of behavioral health counseling
• Jeffrey Stockbridge ’05, award-winning photographer and author of “Kensington Blues”
• David DeMatteo, JD, PhD, associate professor of psychology and law
  
• Jordan Hyatt, JD, PhD, assistant professor of criminology and justice studies
  

In 2016, drug overdose deaths in Philadelphia increased nearly 30 percent. Last year, approximately 900 people — three times the number of our city’s homicide victims — lost their lives as result of this epidemic. Eighty percent of these drug overdose deaths are attributed to opioids and is predicted to increase to 1200 in 2017.

The criminalization of drug addiction and current opioid epidemic has overwhelmed and misplaced the already burdened shadow health care system that exists in our criminal justice system (e.g., policing, courts, corrections). This panel will discuss how we must utilize interdisciplinary approaches to explore the history, biology, law, public health, policy, practice and management of the Philadelphia opioid epidemic.

The College of Arts and Sciences' Dean's Seminars are free and open to the Drexel community. Light refreshments will be served.