Public Health

February 8, 2022 | Controlled Substances, Criminal Justice, Harm Reduction, Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT), Naloxone, Opioids, Prescription Drugs, Public Health, Recovery, Substance Misuse, Toolkits, Treatments

The 2022 AMA-Manatt Toolkit builds on a previously published roadmap by providing actionable resources that states can use to take specific actions in six policy areas: (1) Increase access to evidence-based treatments to help patients with a substance use disorder (SUD); (2) Ensure access to addiction medicine, psychiatry, and other trained physicians; (3) Enforce mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) parity laws; (4) Improve access to multidisciplinary, multimodal care for patients with pain; (5) Expand harm reduction efforts to reduce death and disease; and (6) Improve monitoring and evaluation....

December 10, 2021 | Controlled Substances, Criminal Justice, Harm Reduction, Opioids, Prescription Drugs, Public Health, Recovery, Reports & Studies, Substance Misuse, Treatments

The Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University recently released a three-part report about the multi-district opioid litigation that has been making its way through the court system for many years. Part 1 of the trilogy, focuses on a series of principles governing the use of the settlement funds: (1) spending money to save lives; (2) using evidence to guide spending; (3) investing in youth prevention; (4) focusing on racial equity; and (5) developing a fair and transparent process for deciding where to spend the funding....

December 7, 2021 | Controlled Substances, Harm Reduction, Model Laws, Opioids, Public Health, Public Safety, Sharps/Syringes, Substance Misuse

The Model Syringe Services Program Act (Act) authorizes the establishment of comprehensive syringe services programs, which are associated with a decrease in bloodborne infectious disease diagnoses as well as the number of needlestick injuries to first responders and others. This Act delineates the required components for syringe services programs operating within a state, including that such programs (1) directly provide, or offer referrals to, expanded services, such as substance use disorder treatment, including medications for addiction treatment, HIV and viral hepatitis testing and treatment services, access to opioid antagonist kits, health care services, and mental health services; (2) reduce needlestick injuries to law enforcement, emergency services personnel, sanitation workers, and members of the community; (3) provide data collection and reporting requirements for syringe services programs; (4) provide immunity from criminal arrest, charge, and prosecution for the possession, distribution, or furnishing of hypodermic needles and syringes and other supplies; (5) provide educational and training materials for members of the community, including law enforcement and other first responders, such as emergency medical services; and (6) provide for funding of syringe services programs....

October 21, 2021 | Controlled Substances, Model Laws, Opioids, Public Health, Recovery, Substance Misuse, Treatments

In partnership with the O'Neill Institute for National & Global Health Law at Georgetown University Law Center, the Center for U.S. Policy, and Brown & Weinraub, PLLC, LAPPA developed a model law to assist states in their efforts to maximize funds available to address the overdose crisis. The Model Opioid Litigation Proceeds Act will guide states through the establishment of a dedicated fund, separate from the state’s general treasury fund, that is designated for substance use disorder abatement, including prevention, treatment, recovery, and harm reduction infrastructure, programs, services, supports, and resources. All proceeds received by the state arising out of legal claims made against manufacturers and distributors of prescription opioid analgesics, pharmacies that dispensed prescription opioid analgesics, and related parties shall be deposited into the dedicated fund....

July 26, 2021 | Controlled Substances, Drug Courts, First Responders, Law Enforcement, Legal & Legislative Research, Public Health, Public Safety, Substance Misuse, Treatments

All across the U.S. jails are filled with people who need medical care and social services, many of whom cycle in and out of jail without ever receiving the help they need. One emerging model to combat this problem is deflection, which seeks to prevent individuals who have low to moderate criminogenic risk, but significant unmet social, economic, and health needs, from entering the criminal justice system. The goal of deflection programs is to lessen the burden on the criminal justice system by connecting those individuals—before they enter the criminal justice system—to treatment and social services to which they might not otherwise have access. This document is designed to: (1) provide a singular resource for each jurisdiction’s deflection laws; (2) allow for a comparison of these laws between jurisdictions; and (3) identify and highlight interesting provisions....

July 7, 2021 | Controlled Substances, Model Laws, Public Health, Treatments

Newly incarcerated individuals who use substances require medical intervention to mitigate the effects of withdrawal symptoms and prevent death, suicide, and injury while in custody. Recent data show that nearly two thirds of sentenced individuals in jails meet the criteria for drug dependence or abuse. LAPPA’s Model Withdrawal Management Protocol in Correctional Settings Act requires evidence-based treatment of substance use disorders, including the use of FDA-approved medications; requires correctional settings to establish and implement administrative and clinical protocols when detaining individuals at risk of withdrawal; and provides state legislators, policymakers, and those in the correctional and health care professions with a comprehensive framework to better respond to withdrawal symptoms and related mental health crises of individuals in custody to decrease their mortality while in correctional settings. ...

June 29, 2021 | Innovative Initiatives, Opioids, Public Health, Public Safety, Synthetic Drugs

One of the ways in which jurisdictions are combating the epidemic of drug overdoses in communities is through the use of “spike alerts,” that is, targeted messages that notify recipients that there is an unexpected increase in drug-related overdoses in a specific area. The purpose of these notifications is to “reduce injury or death from opioid overdoses during spike events.” ...