Leo Beletsky All Experts

Professor of Law and Health Sciences; Faculty Director, Health in Justice Action Lab

Expertise

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l.beletsky@neu.edu

617.373.5540

Leo Beletsky In the Media

Leo Beletsky for Northeastern

Drug overdose deaths are down for the first time in 30 years. Is this the turning point of the overdose crisis?

The decrease, however small, is cause for celebration, even though there’s still a lot of work to be done, according to Northeastern law and health sciences professor Leo Beletsky.
- by Emily Arntsen July 19, 2019
When we discuss the crisis of opioid overdoses, the words we use matter

The overdose crisis is officially a public health emergency. Stigmatizing language about addiction only exacerbates the problem. An important step towards solving this crisis, according to two Northeastern researchers, is changing how we talk about addiction.
- by Emily Arntsen June 20, 2019
Opioid addiction is a public health crisis. The way we’re talking about it isn’t helping.

The misuse of and addiction to opioids is a public health crisis in the United States. Part of solving that crisis, say two Northeastern researchers, is changing how we talk about addiction.
- by Molly Callahan January 18, 2019
Social justice baked into the laws regulating Massachusetts’s budding marijuana industry

As Massachusetts prepares the legal framework for marijuana businesses, the state is trying to address a disparity in the way authorities applied anti-drug laws. In some cases, these initiatives were built by students in Northeastern School of Law.
- by Molly Callahan April 20, 2018
How opioid lawsuit money could help solve the epidemic

One judge has the daunting task of resolving more than 400 lawsuits against opioid manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies. Assigning blame for this complex epidemic won't be easy, but it's the first of many steps to solving the epidemic.
- by Allie Nicodemo March 21, 2018
To address opioid crisis, researchers call for focus on root causes of suffering

There is no easy fix to the opioid crisis. But one thing is certain—traditional approaches have been failing, according to Northeastern professor and drug policy expert Leo Beletsky. In a new paper published Thursday, he and his colleagues offer a new perspective on tackling the opioid epidemic.
- by Allie Nicodemo December 22, 2017
Marijuana in Massachusetts, what happens now that it’s legal?

Massachusetts voters earlier this month overwhelmingly approved the legalization of recreational marijuana. We asked drug policy expert Leo Beletsky what happens next and how the Trump administration could impact the rollout of this new law, which takes effect Dec. 15.
- by Joe O'Connell November 28, 2016
3Qs: How to overcome the global drug problem

The United Nations General Assembly recently convened a special session on drugs, marking its first meeting on the topic since 1998. We asked Northeastern drug policy expert Leo Beletsky, who spoke at one of the session’s side events, to reflect on the historic meeting and the future of drug policy reform.
- by Jason Kornwitz April 26, 2016
Are safe injection facilities for heroin users a step in the right direction?

The mayor of Ithaca, New York, last week, announced a plan to open sites where heroin users can safely inject the drug under medical supervision. Assistant professor Leo Beletsky thinks the idea isn’t that far-fetched, saying “We need innovative interventions because what we are doing is not working.”
- by Joe O'Connell March 2, 2016
New White House drug program to help combat ‘national crisis’

Northeastern drug policy expert Leo Beletsky described the federal government’s new Heroin Response Strategy, which looks to combat drug abuse through a public health approach, as a positive development, but added that there is still more work to be done.
- by Joe O'Connell August 18, 2015

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