Model Laws

December 3, 2024 | Controlled Substances, Model Laws, Peer Support and Recoery Services, Public Health, Recovery, Substance Misuse, Workforce Development

The purpose of the Model Building the Substance Use Disorder Workforce of the Future Act is to address the current and projected shortage of professions for the substance use disorder workforce, including psychiatrists, psychologists, physicians who are certified in addiction medicine, addiction counselors, social workers, nursing professionals, peer support professionals, and others. This legislation guides states in adopting a strategy that supports and advances immediate, intermediate, and long-term measures to build and sustain an SUD workforce....

October 17, 2024 | First Responders, Harm Reduction, Model Laws, Naloxone, Opioid Antagonists, Opioid Antagonists, Recovery, Substance Misuse, Treatments

The key elements of the Model Overdose Reversal Agents Act are to: (1) remove all existing restrictions about who can receive, possess, store, transfer without cost, or administer an ORA such that any “person or entity” is eligible; (2) require specified individuals and entities to offer ORAs to individuals at increased risk of overdose; (3) require emergency access to ORAs at specified locations for use by any individual; (4) provide guidelines for ORA sales, in particular sales of non-prescription ORAs; (6) grant broad immunity to people or entities for prescribing, dispensing, giving, donating, transferring without charge, selling, or administering ORAs in the absence of gross negligence, malice, or criminal intent; (7) identify the required content for educational information about ORAs and specify when that information must be disseminated; (8) require Medicaid and other health insurance coverage for ORAs, including non-prescription ORAs, and prohibit discriminatory life and health insurance practices; and (9) create a bulk overdose reversal agent purchasing fund to assist persons and entities to fulfill requirements under the Act....

September 26, 2024 | Criminal Justice, Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT), Model Laws, Recovery, Treatments

Drafted in partnership with the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University, the purpose of the this model legislation is to: (1) promote the use of all U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved medication for addiction treatment options in correctional settings; (2) ensure that all incarcerated individuals with a substance use disorder are provided access to medication for addiction treatment while incarcerated, are treated as individual patients, and have individualized treatment plans reflecting their clinical needs and not a one-size-fits-all approach; and (3) ensure that, upon release from a correctional setting, individuals receiving medication for addiction treatment are provided with a connection in the community for continued care, including a prescription for the medication for addiction treatment and the necessary contacts and tools to continue their treatment....

July 19, 2024 | Insurance, Model Laws, Reentry

The purpose of the Model Medicaid Section 1115 Demonstration Waiver Act is to: (1) Require a state department of health and human services to apply for a Medicaid reentry Section 1115 demonstration waiver to allow a state Medicaid program to cover pre-release services for a Medicaid eligible incarcerated individual for up to 90 days prior to the individual’s expected release date and (2) Require a state department of health and human services to conduct comprehensive monitoring and evaluation of the Medicaid reentry demonstration, if the waiver is approved....

July 19, 2024 | Model Laws, Reentry

The Model Relief from Collateral Consequences of Conviction Act establishes a process for the identification, collection, and publication of state and federal collateral consequences that impact an individual who has been convicted of a crime and establishes a process by which an individual can obtain a certificate of relief from certain collateral consequences before records are eligible to be sealed or expunged....

May 22, 2024 | Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT), Model Laws, Pharmacy, Recovery, Treatments

The Model Pharmacist Collaboration for Medication for Opioid Use Disorder Act, drafted in collaboration with the Center for Health Law Studies at the St. Louis University School of Law, can help to save the lives and improve the health and quality of life of individuals who have an opioid use disorder (OUD) by expanding access to and availability of medication for OUD....

May 3, 2023 | Controlled Substances, Harm Reduction, K-12 Education, Model Laws, Public Health, Public Safety

Developed in collaboration with the Earl Carl Institute for Legal and Social Policy at Texas Southern University’s Thurgood Marshall School of Law, the Model School Response to Drugs and Drug-related Incidents Act guides states in establishing a consistent and positive response for public schools to best support students who have drug or drug-related incidents on school premises or at school-related functions....