Addressing the opioid crisis cannot stop at providing better access to treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD), expanding and enhancing harm reduction efforts, and reimagining the role of law enforcement, as explored previously in this blog series. The response must go further to make treatment and harm reduction more effective, by acknowledging the opioid epidemic as a reflection of the conditions of the whole society, identifying those conditions, and addressing them head-on. A whole-person response to OUD and other substance use disorders needs a well-coordinated whole-of-government response to address myriad societal issues that are critical to effective drug treatment, including, but not limited to, housing, education, economic development, and tax policy.
One of the key tools for combatting the opioid overdose epidemic, which claimed more than 100,000 lives in the last year, is the use of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD). MOUD is a treatment approach that uses medications to relieve withdrawal systems or, in the event of a relapse, block the effects of opioids. MOUD is a vital tool to help individuals dealing with opioid use disorder (OUD) manage their recovery, and is considered the gold standard for treatment.
Harm reduction in the context of the opioid crisis is focused on preventing overdose and infectious disease transmission by working with people who use drugs without moral judgment. Far too often, the public health imperative of harm reduction is blocked by federal policy, state laws, and other structural barriers anchored in the “war on drugs” that reduce the effectiveness of harm reduction efforts. To maximize the potential of harm reduction requires a whole-of-government approach, involving coordination across levels of government.
There is a well-established whole of government response to drug policing centered around the “war on drugs.” However, the existing response is largely built on flawed policies that have resulted in mass incarceration, structural racism, and lagging improvements in treatment and harm reduction related to the opioid crisis. Policy changes must be considered to replace acknowledged failures and reimagine the whole of government response to drug policing.
People who need opioid use (OUD) treatment in the United States are often not receiving it—at least two million people with OUD are experiencing a treatment gap that prevents or hampers their ability to receive life-saving care and support. This reality reflects structural, policy, and legal misalignments common to the entire US health care system, but that are especially present for behavioral health needs like substance use, and are exacerbated by other challenges related to stigma, lack of employment, and fragmented or nonexistent care coordination.
Act for Public Health's October Legislative Update covered the newly released vaccine bill tracking data from the Temple University Center for Public Health Law Research (CPHLR), highlighting trends and examples across the widespread legal activity surrounding vaccine law during the 2023 legislative session.
The Society of Family Planning awards Changemakers in Family Planning grants to respond to institutionalized racism in the field of family planning by providing dedicated support for scholars of color to expand research skills and expertise. This year, CPHLR Law and Policy Analyst Cydney Murray has been selected as a Changemaker! We couldn't be more proud and excited for her to receive this honor and to further her research.
Are you joining us for the 2023 Policy Surveillance Institute on October 5-6? We can’t wait to see everyone in Philadelphia for the first in-person Institute since 2019!
We’ve put together a guide if you plan on staying in the city the whole weekend. There’s something for everyone here in Philadelphia to find and explore!
The Center for Public Health Law Research strives to provide ample resources for anyone wanting to learn more about legal epidemiology. Legal epidemiology is the scientific study of and deployment of law as a factor in the cause, distribution, and prevention of disease and injury in a population.
