This is a report from the Drug Policy Alliance that gives an overview of the emergence of drug-induced homicide laws across states to address the opioid crisis and how this may be an ineffective policy response due to the nuances of buyers and sellers in an illicit drug market. Several real-…

This is a report that provides an update on the Trump Administration's Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, which includes progress made on the initial 56 recommendations made by the Commission. 

This is a report from the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown Law Center (authors LaBelle and Weizman) that provides recommendations for actions that state and local leaders can take immediately to increase evidence-based practices, decrease arbitrary…

This is an academic paper that examined initiation of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) based on waiting time for an appointment at a low threshold addiction clinic in Boston. Patients who were able to get same-day or next-day appointments were more likely to arrive at their…

This is a report from the National Endowment for the Arts that describes the evidence on the role of the arts in the management of pain and in the prevention and treatment of substance use disorders. Evidence for art-based therapies, especially music, is promising and also includes painting,…

This website provides a report and other resources from the Association of Schools and Programs in Public Health (ASSPH) that makes research-informed recommendations across the entire continuum of care to address the opioid crisis. 

This is an academic paper that examines the risk of prescription opioid misuse among children of parents that report using prescription opioids. The study did find an increased risk suggested that restricting the availability and accessibility of prescription opioids in the home, such as drug…

This academic paper provides a summary on state-level policy data relevant to opioid use disorder treament reported by government and non profit agencies that track healthcare regulations. The four areas this report focuses on are tele-health, privacy, licensing, and medication for opioid use…

This academic paper evaluates whether the implementation of postoverdose outreach programs among Massachusetts municipalities was associated with lower opioid fatality rates compared with municipalities without postoverdose outreach programs.  Implementation of postoverdose outreach programs in…

This is an academic paper that explores how methadone and buprenorphine capacity vary by race/ethnicity. Study findings show that counties with highly segregated black/African American and Hispanic/Latinx communities had more facilities to provide methadone per capita, while counties with highly…

This is an academic paper showing that providing take-home naloxone to clients of opioid treatment providers (e.g. methadone clinics) is a good harm reduction strategy to reduce negative outcomes associated with opioid overdose in the community. Of the 395 participants enrolled in this study, 73…

This is an issue brief from SAMHSA that provides an overview of national trends related to opioid misuse and overdose, explains opioid risk factors and routes to access for youth, and describes school-based and school-community initiatives that address opioid prevention. The document includes an…

This is an academic paper that discusses the creation of an innovative tool for the statewide distribution of naloxone to areas that have been most impacted and populations that are high risk. This tool provides states and communities with a data-driven decision-making process for naloxone…

This report highlights the disconnect between the urgent need to provide medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) to individuals with OUD in jail and the limited accessibility to MOUD for those who need it. The findings underscore a need to address challenges faced by jails in implementing the…

This is an academic paper which presents a case study of efforts to implement the expansion of access to medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in the rural state of Montana. The study identified limits to the hub and spoke model used and offers suggestions for policies that could improve…

This is a qualitative evaluation of a training program in Washington that waivered physicians to prescribe buprenorphine. Several physicians were interviewed following the program to identify the different barriers to prescribing.

This report describes the importance of integrating behavioral health services, including addiction treatment, into primary health care facilities in order to address substance use disorders in rural areas. Barriers to integration are described, federal resources listed, and recommendations on…

This report identifies strategies to promote equity in behavioral health services to engage affected communities, incorporate the voice of people with lived experience, and establish processes for accountability. The report includes checklists of recommended initiatives that states and…

This is a report from the Rural Policy Research Institute that provides an overview of behavioral health in rural America with the goal of helping rural leaders and providers understand the issues related to rural mental health and substance use and give them resources and tools to develop…

This is an academic paper discussing the impact of the Washington State opioid dosing guidelines, which were associated with a decline in the mean dose for long‐acting opioids, the percent of claimants receiving opioid doses ≥120 mg morphine equivalent dose (MED) per day, and the number of…