The senior never thought addiction would be a part of her world, until it touched her family. Now she’s helping educate others about substance use

With her work for THREAD, Sarah Lotsoff, A25, hopes to commemorate her brother, “to make sure that he isn’t forgotten and that other families don’t have to feel this loss.” Photo: Alonso Nichols
Addiction can affect anyone. Philosophy major Sarah Lotsoff, A25, knows this firsthand. Her brother, Ben, was a smart, talented student at Brown University when he accidentally overdosed on fentanyl-contaminated cocaine after a night out with friends in 2023.
Determined to commemorate his life, she’s committed to educating her peers about addiction in a nonjudgmental way as part of her work for Tufts Harm Reduction Education for Alcohol and Drugs (THREAD). This month, she moderates a discussion with Nic Sheff, the bestselling author of Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines and We All Fall Down: Living With Addiction, who comes to campus on Wednesday, October 16, as part of the Tisch College Solomont Speaker Series. His life was also the basis of the movie Beautiful Boy.
Why are you passionate about educating your peers on addiction?
My brother dealt with substance use disorder throughout college, but for a while I hadn’t known. I remember seeing an interview with the star of Beautiful Boy, Timothée Chalamet. He was talking about how addiction touches so many lives and that it’s so important to talk about it, because there’s so much stigma around it; you don’t realize how pervasive it is. I remember watching that and thinking: “What a beautiful message.” But I never felt like addiction would be part of my world.
When my family learned that my brother was struggling with substance use disorder, it was a shock. He was away at school a lot, and he was able to keep it to himself. But then he came home for break and was having mental health struggles. We learned abruptly that he wasn’t sober. Within 24 hours, my dad drove him to a treatment facility across the country—once my family was aware, there was a lot of effort to support him. Addiction is a very difficult thing. It’s a constant effort to be in recovery.
He was sober for a while and went back to school at Brown. He started using again and died of an accidental overdose from cocaine contaminated with fentanyl last April, my sophomore spring. He had no idea he was being exposed to fentanyl.
What was Ben like?
He was a really intelligent and naturally curious person about the things he was interested in. He was an adventurous cook, a great chemistry student, and a really talented musician—he played the trombone and loved jazz. He was very sensitive and had a really huge inner world, which not everyone got to see. It’s a real tragedy that his life was cut short due to an accidental fentanyl overdose, hidden in another drug. My work is ultimately an ode to him and my family, to make sure that he isn’t forgotten and that other families don’t have to feel this loss.
How did you get involved in educating others about drugs and alcohol?
I took a course called Drugs and Behavior, a psych course. I had a lot of apprehension about taking that class, but I felt compelled to understand substance use disorder.
In that class, we read Beautiful Boy, the memoir by Nic Sheff’s father. I loved it. I’d never seen anything having to do with addiction and recovery talked about from the family’s perspective—the feelings of confusion and wanting to help but not knowing how.
On my own, I read Nic Sheff’s memoir, Tweak, which covers the same time period. I thought: What if I tried to get him to come speak at Tufts? I emailed Laura Michelson, who leads THREAD—I work with her now—and she gave me so much confidence. She told me that my personal connection made it really meaningful.
Part of the draw of Nic as a speaker is his conversational and frank approach when discussing his struggles. He’s very real, and I think that makes him accessible to college students who aren’t looking to be lectured or preached to.
Tell me about your work with THREAD.
The ethos behind THREAD is to educate people so that they can make informed decisions about substance use. That’s why we’re really active on our Instagram (@threadtufts), because we can get so much harm reduction information to the student body in very digestible bites. For instance, anyone can get free Narcan and fentanyl test strips from THREAD or Health Services with the click of a button. That’s all it takes, and then you’ve made yourself, your friends, and your peers so much safer for it. You never think you’re going to need to stop an overdose until you do, and then there’s no time to waste.
How have students responded?
We’re getting more requests for people to pick up Narcan, which is really cool to see: It’s showing that people know what it is, and they’re actively seeking it out and wanting to be proactive about their health.
People’s initial foray into drug education is usually through DARE and “Just Say No.” I think if you present information about safe substance use in a nonjudgmental, informative, warm, and understanding way, and sort of erase any moral associations, people are pretty receptive.