Criminal Justice

April 11, 2024 | Controlled Substances, Criminal Justice, Harm Reduction, Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT), Naloxone, Opioid Antagonists, Opioids, Prescription Drugs, Public Health, Public Safety, Recovery, Reports & Studies, Substance Abuse, Treatments

The Addiction and Public Policy Initiative at the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law was established in 2018 through a generous grant from Arnold Ventures. Housed at Georgetown Law, the Addiction and Public Policy Initiative works at the intersection of public health and the law to advance a public health approach to substance use disorder and the overdose epidemic through legal and policy strategies that promote evidence-based treatment, harm reduction, and recovery. This reports highlights O'Neill's accomplishments over the last five years....

February 15, 2024 | Controlled Substances, Criminal Justice, Harm Reduction, Law Enforcement, Opioids, Prescription Drugs, Public Health, Public Safety, Recovery, Substance Abuse, Toolkits

These fact sheets provide guidance for overdose fatality review (OFR) teams, public safety and public health agencies utilizing the Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program (ODMAP), and law enforcement deflection partnership efforts on what can and cannot be legally shared regarding federal law (such as 42 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] Part 2 and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act [HIPAA]). ...

November 15, 2023 | Criminal Justice, Fact Sheets, Stimulants, Substance Abuse

This fact sheet examines the racial disparities and stigma surrounding crack cocaine, established in the late 1980s, that continue to this day. The Fair Sentencing Act has helped to lessen the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine, yet gaps remain. Passage of certain legislation, like the so-called EQUAL Act, would eliminate both the sentencing and racial disparity in cocaine sentencing still seen today in U.S. courts....

August 4, 2023 | Controlled Substances, Criminal Justice, Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT), Opioids, Recovery, Reports & Studies, Substance Abuse, Treatments

This report from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, details guidelines that local government officials, jail administrators, correctional officers, and health care professionals can use in providing effective health care for adults who are sentenced or awaiting sentencing to jail, awaiting court action on a current charge, or being held in custody for other reasons....

July 17, 2023 | Criminal Justice, Fact Sheets, First Responders, Law Enforcement, Public Safety, Substance Abuse

Deflection is any collaborative intervention connecting law enforcement, other first responders, and community responders with public health systems to create pathways to treatment and services for individuals—with low to moderate criminogenic risk—who have a substance use disorder, mental health disorder, or co-occurring disorders and who often have other service needs. This fact sheet provides an overview of what deflection is, examples of initiatives utilizing one or more of the six recognized deflection pathways, and a brief description of the status of deflection-related laws in the United States....

January 17, 2023 | Controlled Substances, Criminal Justice, Harm Reduction, Law Enforcement, Peer Support and Recoery Services, Public Health, Public Safety, Recovery, Substance Abuse, Toolkits, Treatments

This toolkit is for justice and public safety practitioners planning to implement peer support services in law enforcement agencies, court-based programs, community supervision agencies, and correctional settings. Each section of the toolkit offers critical questions to address during the planning and implementation phase, case studies, tools, and resources drawn from the latest research, subject matter experts, and experiences from diverse settings across the United States....

December 30, 2022 | Criminal Justice, Harm Reduction, Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT), Opioids, Recovery, Reports & Studies, Substance Abuse, Treatments

This document provides jail and prison administrators, program managers, medical staff in correctional settings, and reentry staff with a performance management framework to monitor medication-assisted treatment (MAT) in correctional settings....

December 7, 2022 | Controlled Substances, Criminal Justice, Fact Sheets, Opioids, Substance Abuse, Treatments

Withdrawal syndrome occurs in individuals who have developed physiological dependence on a substance and who discontinue or reduce their use of it. Individuals who use drugs or alcohol prior to incarceration may experience the onset of withdrawal syndrome while in a correctional setting. This fact sheet discusses the management of withdrawal symptoms of individuals in the corrections system....

October 25, 2022 | Controlled Substances, Criminal Justice, Fact Sheets, Harm Reduction, Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT), Opioids, Recovery, Substance Abuse, Treatments

Through the use of medications for addiction treatment (MAT), an individual’s substance use, withdrawal symptoms, and the physiological and psychological cravings can be controlled, enabling the person to begin treatment while in a correctional facility and be released as a person in, or on his or her way to, recovery. Research shows that that the use of MAT for Opioid Use Disorder in correctional settings is a cost-effective and life-saving intervention....