Rosalie Pacula, president of the International Society for Drug Policy, will discuss “The Impact of Policy on Public Health: Evidence from Cannabis Legalization Experiments in the U.S. and Canada” during the 34th annual J. Warren Perry Lectureship in Public Health.

The talk takes place at 1 p.m. Dec. 6 via Zoom.

Pacula is professor and Elizabeth Garrett Endowed Chair in Health Policy, Economics and Law at the University of Southern California’s Sol Price School of Public Policy. She is an economist whose research examines policies that influence a range of public health issues. Her topics of interest include the regulation of cannabis, opioids and other addictive substances, along with their treatment.

Pacula serves as a senior fellow with the Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics, where she co-directs the RAND-USC Schaeffer Opioid Policy Tools & Information Center of Excellence, in addition to leading numerous National Institute of Health-funded studies examining the impact of federal, state and local laws on the supply, demand and access to treatment for intoxicating substances.

Pacula’s work as co-director of RAND’s Drug Policy Research Center focuses on drug policy studies for the United States and Europe. She has served on a number of working groups and committees, including:

• National Advisory Council Cannabis Policy Workgroup, National Institute on Drug Abuse.
  
• Technical Advisory Committee on Preventing Cannabis Use Among Youth, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
  
• Technical Expert Committee on Cannabis Use and Cannabis Policy, World Health Organization.
• Committee on the Review of Specific Programs in the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.
• Board of Scientific Counselors, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The J. Warren Perry Distinguished Lectureship is presented by the School of Public Health and Health Professions. It honors the late J. Warren Perry, founding dean of the School of Health-Related Professions, a precursor to the school.