LIVESTREAM EVENT: Young Voices Talks Drug Policy
Join Young Voices commentators Layal Bou Harfouch, Sofia Hamilton, and Sam Raus for this virtual panel discussion on the drug policy in the U.S. under the current administration. Topics may include Fentanyl/opioid addiction and treatment, the recent rise of kratom regulations, Illegal drugs and violent urban crime among others.
This livestream will commence at 12:00 PM (EST) on Friday, February 13th on both our X feed and YouTube channel.
Layal Bou Harfouch is a drug policy analyst at Reason Foundation. Her work for Reason focuses on harm reduction. Bou Harfouch’s experience spans multiple facets of addiction treatment and drug policy, informed by her extensive background in translational health research and clinical coordination. Bou Harfouch previously coordinated multisite clinical trials in addiction at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Division of Addiction Medicine, where she served as a senior clinical research coordinator testing a monthly injectable formulation of buprenorphine. She most recently held a position as a research coordinator at the Adolescent Addiction Recovery Center at Detroit Medical Center, where she analyzed clinic outcomes and success rates. Bou Harfouch is currently a doctoral student at the University of Oxford, pursuing a DPhil in Evidence-Based Health Care. She also holds an M.S. in Biotechnology from Johns Hopkins University and a B.S. in Kinesiology with a minor in Substance Use Disorder Prevention, Intervention, and Treatment from Central Michigan University.
Sofia Hamilton is a Young Voices Spokesperson and a Policy Analyst at Americans for Prosperity where she focuses on health care at the state and federal levels. She is also a Social Mobility Fellow at Young Voices, writing and commentating on issues related to housing, harm reduction, and criminal justice reform. Previously, Sofia was a Research Associate at the Cato Institute where she studied policy issues related to drugs, poverty, housing, and women’s health. Her work has been published in outlets such as the Washington Examiner, Orange County Register, and Reason Magazine. In 2023, one of Sofia's articles resulted in the DC Council passing emergency legislation to ensure that all DC residents could legally purchase pepper spray amid rising crime rates in the nation's capital. Sofia graduated from the University of Miami with majors in Political Science and History and minors in International Studies and Sociology. While at the University of Miami, she worked with the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors as a Policy Research Associate to advocate for essential benefits for military families and veterans.These experiences have instilled in her a passion for increasing economic mobility and opportunity to allow all individuals the freedom to succeed on their own terms without the unnecessary interference of the government.
Sam Raus is the David Boaz Resident Writing Fellow at Young Voices, a political analyst and public relations professional. His work covers the past, present and future of free society and has appeared in outlets such as USA Today, Newsweek and The Hill. Raus is a native of the Philadelphia metro area and graduate from the University of Miami School of Communications.