Past Events

Adolescents—human and animal alike—take risks, challenge authority, and navigate social hierarchies as part of their development. In Wildhood, Dr. Barbara Natterson-Horowitz explores how these behaviors are biologically ingrained and essential for survival. This event will examine how evolutionary biology supports the Supreme Court’s “Children Are Different” jurisprudence, reinforcing why adolescent decision-making should be understood through science rather than…

Artificial intelligence is poised for impact on every aspect of healthcare, healthcare systems, and clinical practice. As use cases emerge, careful analysis of ethical concerns and new legal and regulatory tools are needed. This conversation among experts will explore the ethical considerations for medical and consider current and possible legal and regulatory approaches. Panelists This…

Sacred Rights: Psychedelics, Law, and Spirituality  2025 PULSE Conference Project on Psychedelic Use, Law, and Spiritual Experience (PULSE)  Scientific and commercial interest in psychedelics is exploding. In the flood of news about drug companies, clinical trials, and state and federal regulation, one might overlook the spiritual use of psychedelics. However, spiritual use long predates Western…

This special event kicks off the Petrie-Flom Center’s 20th Anniversary year. Join us throughout 2025 to learn and gather inspiration for our next 20 years. Join us to reflect on a turbulent, world-changing year with an esteemed panel of experts. COVID-19, political unrest, and a societal reckoning all contributed to “the year everything changed,” according…

Event Description Join us for Book Talk: The Constitution of the War on Drugs, as author David Pozen is joined by Mason Marks and Jeannie Suk Gersen to discuss the lost history of constitutional challenges to punitive drug laws and consider possible future paths open to drug reformers today. Please note: The Constitution of the War on…

Event Description This academic year, the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School proudly launched a new project called PULSE: Psychedelic Use, Law, and Spiritual Experience. PULSE convenes legal and religious scholars and practitioners with diverse perspectives to discuss how law, policy, and ethics affect the religious and spiritual…

The Health Law Policy, Bioethics, and Biotechnology Workshop provides a forum for discussion of new scholarship in these fields from the world’s leading experts. The workshop is led by Professor I. Glenn Cohen, and presenters come from a wide range of disciplines and departments. Harvard graduate students may register to take the workshop for course…

Event Description Join us for a thought-provoking discussion on the mass incarceration of children, adolescent neuroscience, and restorative justice. Our distinguished panelists—a judge, a psychologist, and a lawyer rooted in restorative justice —will share their expertise on how we can align justice systems with science and pave the way for more humane and effective pathways…

Event Description  Are you interested in health law and health policy topics? You’re invited to the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics’ 2024 Open House.  The Petrie-Flom Center is an interdisciplinary research program at Harvard Law School dedicated to scholarly research at the intersection of law and health policy. For our 20th anniversary year we…

The Petrie-Flom Center hosted an intensive training on issues in psychedelics-related law, medicine, research, and policy from July 29th to August 1st, 2024. Made possible by a generous gift from the Gracias Family Foundation, Psychedelics Bootcamp 2024 was part of Petrie-Flom’s Project on Psychedelics Law and Regulation (POPLAR). Attendees were selected with a range of perspectives and backgrounds, gathering…