Recovery

April 14, 2025 | Data Collection, Health Data, Recovery, Reports & Studies, Substance Use Disorder, Treatments

In 2024, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) convened an interagency working group (IWG) comprised of 30 federal agencies to identify federal recovery research gaps and opportunities on recovery from substance use disorder (SUD). This article outlines the process undertaken to identify these research opportunities and describes four core research topic areas and three cross-cutting themes and provides the rationale for their selection. It also identifies potential pathways for recovery research, including evaluation and data collection activities, and discusses challenges and potential opportunities for recovery research....

March 16, 2025 | Controlled Substances, Drug Courts, Fact Sheets, Harm Reduction, Peer Support and Recoery Services, Public Health, Public Safety, Recovery, Treatments

In this fact sheet the Legislative Analysis and Public Policy Association (LAPPA) details how opioid settlement proceeds are being disbursed to state and local governments, how those governments are choosing to spend those funds, and the obstacles that can prevent these funds from helping those who have been affected by the opioid epidemic....

January 6, 2025 | Controlled Substances, Insurance, Model Laws, Public Health, Recovery, Substance Misuse, Treatments

The Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Parity Act aims to empower effective enforcement of mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) parity standards at the state level. This model legislation requires: (1) health benefit plans to provide mental health and SUD benefits on terms no more restrictive than those for medical/surgical benefits; and (2) health insurers to demonstrate compliance with the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act for all state-regulated health benefit plans subject to the parameters of this legislation. The overarching purpose of this Act is to save lives and improve health and quality of life by expanding access to mental health and SUD treatment....

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

Drafted in collaboration with the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at the Georgetown University Law Center, 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....

November 5, 2024 | Controlled Substances, Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT), Opioids, Recovery, Reports & Studies, Treatments

The Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University and the Legislative Analysis and Public Policy Association, together published a report that includes a comprehensive review of the laws and regulations that apply to methadone for opioid use disorder (OUD) to determine which laws and regulations would need to be amended in order to support pharmacy-based methadone treatment for OUD. This analysis (1) includes a discussion of the agencies involved in governing methadone for OUD treatment; (2) explains the provision in federal Controlled Substances Act that creates the regulatory scheme for methadone treatment; (3) describes DEA regulations governing Narcotic Treatment Programs; and (4) summarizes the general types of state laws and regulations that place additional restrictions on methadone for OUD treatment....

October 24, 2024 | Emergency Departments, Harm Reduction, Innovative Initiatives, Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT), Public Health, Recovery, Substance Misuse, Treatments

To complement the opioid prescribing guidelines that the University of Buffalo Department of Emergency Medicine established in 2016, Dr. Joshua Lynch developed the Medication for Addiction Treatment and Electronic Referrals (MATTERS) program. He saw the need for MATTERs because the “window of opportunity” to help someone with a substance use disorder is small, and he wanted to immediately link a patient who had overdosed to a treatment program that is right for that individual....

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....

October 2, 2024 | Harm Reduction, Innovative Initiatives, Naloxone, Opioid Antagonists, Opioid Antagonists, Recovery, Substance Misuse

In 2018, the city of Chicago, IL gained an ally in the fight against fatal overdoses and substance use disorder in the non-profit organization, To Walk in My Shoes. Co-founded by Marnell Brown, a person in long term recovery, To Walk in My Shoes provides resources and support for those in need in the community. In addition to providing individuals with job skills training, including interview practice and how to write a resume, money management skills, and conflict resolution skills, To Walk in My Shoes also works to raise awareness about and provide testing for HIV/AIDS....

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....