Info For:

Stephen Lankenau, PhD

Professor of Community Health and Prevention; Director, Medical Cannabis Research Center
Expertise public health sociology

Lankenau is a sociologist who combines public health concerns and ethnographic methods to the study of high-risk youth, out- of-treatment drug users, homelessness and HIV/AIDS. Currently, he is leading a five-year project to study medical and non-medical marijuana use among young adults in Los Angeles. He has studied prescription drug misuse among young people in Los Angeles and New York to describe patterns of initiation, risk and protective behaviors and other unanticipated health consequences. He is also leading evaluation studies of overdose prevention programs in Los Angeles and Philadelphia to determine programs that effectively reduce the risks of fatal drug overdoses. Many of these studies are funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

Contact

267.359.6057 stephen.e.lankenau@drexel.edu

Media Inquiries

Greg Richter

gdr33@drexel.edu 215-895-2614

In The News

Pennsylvania’s Path To Legalizing Cannabis Faces Numerous Hurdles
Mar 11, 2024
Stephen Lankenau, PhD, a professor in the Dornsife School of Public Health and co-director of the Medical Cannabis Research Center, was quoted in a March 11 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article about hurdles to Pennsylvania’s path to legalizing cannabis.
Here’s What You Need To Know About Cannabis Drinks
Feb 1, 2023
Stephen Lankenau, PhD, a professor in the Dornsife School of Public Health and director of the Medical Cannabis Research Center at Dornsife and the College of Medicine, was quoted in a Feb. 1 Men’s Health article about cannabis drinks.
Study Finds Association Between Excessive Marijuana Use and Self-harm, But Not Cause And Effect
Feb 8, 2021
Stephen Lankenau, PhD, a professor in the Dornsife School of Public Health, was quoted in a Feb. 8 KYW Newsradio story about a study finding an association between excessive marijuana use and self-harm among young people with mood disorders.
How a New App Could Help Prevent Opioid Overdoses in Philadelphia
Sep 23, 2020
Stephen Lankenau, PhD, is featured in a Sept. 23 Philadelphia magazine article about how a team of Dornsife School of Public Health researchers has developed an app to help address the opioid crisis in Philadelphia.
Researchers Create App That Alerts Naloxone-Trained Volunteers to Overdoses
Aug 3, 2020
Research from Stephen Lankenau, PhD, a professor and associate dean for research at the Dornsife School of Public Health, that finds that trained community members can reverse overdoses through use of an app and naloxone, was featured in a Aug. 3 EMS1.com article.
Study: Friends, Family Are Most Common Gateway to Addiction, Not Doctors
May 14, 2019
Stephen Lankenau, PhD, a professor and associate dean for research in the Dornsife School of Public Health, was quoted in a May 14 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article about opioid addiction frequently starting from a pill obtained from a friend or family member, rather than directly from a doctor.
A Drexel-Made Smartphone App to Reduce Overdose Deaths in Philly
Feb 15, 2019
Stephen Lankenau, PhD, a professor in the Dornsife School of Public Health, was featured in a Feb. 15 Billy Penn story about an app he is working on that aims to prevent deaths by opioid overdoses.
New Proposal Would Give Addicts More Access to Treatment
Apr 24, 2018
Stephen Lankenau, PhD, a professor in the Dornsife School of Public Health, was quoted in a Delaware County Daily Times story April 24 about how a new proposal in Pennsylvania to get those addicted to opioids more help may actually backfire.
View All

Related Articles

Unity Philly app used in reversing overdoses Can Community Members Deliver Naloxone to Reverse Opioid Overdoses — And Do It Faster Than EMS?
Aug 5, 2020
Equipped with naloxone and a smartphone app, community members can save lives in the fight against America’s opioid crisis, according to a paper from researchers at Drexel University’s Dornsife School of Public Health and colleagues published this week in The Lancet journal EClinicalMedicine.
cannabis Legalizing Marijuana in California: Drexel Researcher Receives NIH Funding to Study Policy's Effects on Young Adults
Nov 1, 2018
The longitudinal study will track how the state's changing cannabis laws affect the health and behaviors of young adults living in Los Angeles.
Dr. Stephen Lankenau, an associate professor in the Drexel University School of Public Health First Large Public Health Study of Medical Marijuana Use in Young Adults to Begin with NIH Grant
Jul 11, 2013
Drexel University has received a grant for a five-year study of medical marijuana and its impact on drug use and physical and psychological health among young adults in Los Angeles. It is the first large-scale NIH project funded to directly investigate medical marijuana use among young adults aged 18 to 26.
Dr. Stephen Lankenau Researchers Describe Link Between Prescription and Illicit Drug Misuse in High-Risk Populations
Feb 27, 2012
A new report from researchers at the Drexel University School of Public Health identifies patterns in the misuse of illicit drugs among young adults in Los Angeles and New York who also misuse prescription drugs.
Public Health Student Honored for Research on LGBT Youth Prescription Drug Abuse
Nov 9, 2011
Aleksandar Kecojevic, a second-year doctoral student at Drexel University’s School of Public Health, has been named the 2011 recipient of the Walter J. Lear Outstanding Student Research Award for his study of non-medical use of prescription drugs among high-risk LGBT youth.

Drexel News is produced by
University Marketing and Communications.

Media Relations

Submission Guidelines

Follow
Top