Corey Davis, J.D., M.S.P.H., serves as Director of the Network’s Harm Reduction Legal Project, which works to address the legal and policy barriers that impede the establishment and expansion of evidence-based harm reduction measures such as naloxone distribution, syringe access programs, and access to evidence-based substance use disorder treatment. Corey and his team provide guidance and consultation in navigating the often extremely confusing maze of existing laws and regulations that hamper harm reduction initiatives.

Corey was previously a Senior Attorney at the National Health Law Program (NHeLP), where he helped to advance access to quality health care for low-income and underserved individuals. Before joining NHeLP Corey served as Employment Rights Attorney at Equality Advocates Pennsylvania, where he represented lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals before administrative commissions and in state and federal courts. He previously oversaw a street-based legal clinic sited at Philadelphia’s syringe exchange program.

Corey has served as chair of a county board of health, chair of the board of the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition, and vice-chair of the North Carolina Harm Public Health Foundation, among other positions. He is a recipient of the International AIDS Society’s Young Investigator Award and has published extensively in the lay and academic press. Corey received his B.S. from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, his M.S.P.H. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his J.D. from Temple University. Corey is barred in Pennsylvania and New Jersey as well as various federal courts.

Articles & Resources

To Address Overdose, The U.S. Should Ramp Up Proven Interventions at Home, Not Performative Attacks Abroad.

Law & Policy InsightsSubstance Use Prevention and Harm ReductionHarm Reduction Legal Project

October 15, 2025
by Corey Davis

President Trump and members of his administration have justified recent deadly assaults on civilians abroad by claiming that the boats they were in were carrying illicit drugs and that the alleged drug smuggling “constitutes an armed attack on the United States.” We have effective prevention, treatment, and harm reduction interventions that reduce overdose and other harms. The U.S. should embrace and fund those initiatives at home, not engage in inhumane, unjust, and ineffective attacks abroad.

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­Legality of Expired Naloxone in Idaho­

Fact SheetSubstance Use Prevention and Harm ReductionHarm Reduction Legal ProjectIdaho

October 14, 2025
by Amy Lieberman, Corey Davis and Michael Abrams

All 50 states and the District of Columbia have modified their laws to increase access to naloxone, the standard first-line treatment for opioid overdose. While these laws have been successful in increasing access to this lifesaving medication, few explicitly address the legality of distributing and administering naloxone that is past its expiration date. This fact sheet discusses whether Idaho laws forbid the prescription, dispensing, distribution, possession, or administration of expired naloxone and whether medical professionals and others who take such actions might be held liable.

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The July 2025 Executive Order and the State of Harm Reduction in the US 

Law & Policy InsightsHarm Reduction Legal ProjectExecutive Order Watch: Protecting America’s Health from Harmful Directives

August 22, 2025
by Corey Davis

In late July, the Trump Administration issued an Executive Order, “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets,” that threatens to further criminalize unhoused people, people who use drugs (PWUD), and other marginalized groups. While the order raised fears that all harm reduction activities would lose federal funding, SAMHSA has since clarified that lifesaving tools like naloxone, drug-checking supplies, and sharps disposal kits remain eligible for support. Still, the administration’s stance reinforces a dangerous narrative: separating “acceptable” overdose interventions from the core principles of harm reduction, which affirm the dignity and humanity of PWUD.

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Legality of Syringe Services Programs in Maryland

Fact SheetHarm Reduction Legal ProjectHarm Reduction Legal Project ResourcesOpioid Misuse and Overdose Prevention

November 22, 2024
by Corey Davis and Michael Abrams

Infections among people who use drugs related to lack of access to new syringes and subsequent syringe sharing among people who inject drugs have increased dramatically. Increasing access to sterile syringes through syringe services programs (SSPs) is an extremely effective strategy for reducing the spread of bloodborne disease among people who use drugs, their partners, and their families. This factsheet discusses the legality of SSPs in Maryland.

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Naloxone Prescription Mandates

Fact SheetHarm Reduction Legal ProjectHarm Reduction Legal Project ResourcesOpioid Misuse and Overdose PreventionSubstance Use Prevention and Harm Reduction

September 17, 2024
by Amy Lieberman and Corey Davis

Drug overdose continues to claim the lives of tens of thousands of people in the U.S. every year. Opioids, both prescription painkillers and street drugs such as heroin and illicitly manufactured fentanyl, are responsible for the majority of these deaths. In response, states have passed legislation to increase access to the opioid overdose reversal medication naloxone, including provisions that allow for the distribution of naloxone through pharmacies. Some states have gone further and now require that naloxone be prescribed or offered to some patients. This fact sheet describes those requirements and links to the relevant laws.

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Legal Interventions to Reduce Overdose Mortality: Overdose Good Samaritan Laws

50-state surveyHarm Reduction Legal ProjectHarm Reduction Legal Project ResourcesOpioid Misuse and Overdose Prevention

September 1, 2024
by Amy Lieberman and Corey Davis

Overdose Good Samaritan laws can offer immunity from legal prosecution to those who seek emergency help for someone overdosing and are associated with an approximate 15 percent reduction in overdose deaths. This resource provides information on Good Samaritan laws in each of the states where they exist.

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Legality of Drug Checking Equipment in the United States

50-state surveyHarm Reduction Legal ProjectMechanisms for Advancing Public HealthSubstance Use Prevention and Harm ReductionHarm Reduction Legal Project Resources

August 22, 2024
by Ashleigh Dennis and Corey Davis

Contaminants including fentanyl and fentanyl analogs are now present in the illicit drug supply throughout the U.S. Because no safe supply of most illicitly used drugs is available, helping people determine what is in the drugs they obtain can be an impactful harm reduction intervention. The easiest and most inexpensive way to accomplish this is often through use of fentanyl test strips and xylazine test strips. This resource outlines the legality of drug checking equipment in 50 states and the District of Columbia.

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Supplantation in the Context of Opioid Settlement Funds

Fact SheetOpioid Misuse and Overdose PreventionHarm Reduction Legal ProjectHarm Reduction Legal Project ResourcesSubstance Use Prevention and Harm Reduction

August 21, 2024
by Corey Davis

The major opioid settlement agreements generally do not address “supplantation,” the practice of using settlement funds to support an existing initiative rather than starting or investing in new initiatives.  Some states have enacted laws, rules, or guidelines that restrict or prohibit such supplantation. This fact sheet provides a description and brief analysis of how various states are addressing this issue.

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Effective, Equity-focused Overdose Good Samaritan Laws: Maine Leads the Way

Law & Policy InsightsSubstance Use Prevention and Harm ReductionHarm Reduction Legal ProjectHarm Reduction Legal Project Resources

May 2, 2024
by Corey Davis

Overdose Good Samaritan laws, which generally provide limited protections from arrest or prosecution for drug-related crimes, have been passed in most states. The limited protection these laws offer is often insufficient. A recently passed law in Maine that provides immunity from all but a small number of crimes, while not perfect, is a step towards improving the effectiveness of these laws.

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Characteristics of Statewide Naloxone Distribution Mechanisms

50-state surveyOpioid Misuse and Overdose PreventionHarm Reduction Legal ProjectHarm Reduction Legal Project ResourcesSubstance Use Prevention and Harm Reduction

May 1, 2024
by Amy Lieberman, Ashleigh Dennis and Corey Davis

This fact sheet provides information on Pennsylvania's Act 139, which provides limited immunity to overdose victims and bystanders that seek medical help, and increases accesss to naloxone, a drug that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.

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