Corey Davis

In response to the ongoing opioid overdose crisis, 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. These fact sheets discuss the efficacy of expired naloxone in Kentucky and Texas and whether the relative laws in each state permit the distribution and administration of such naloxone.

In response to the ongoing opioid overdose crisis, 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. These fact sheets discuss the efficacy of expired naloxone in Kentucky and Texas and whether the relative laws in each state permit the distribution and administration of such naloxone.

Arnold Ventures has renewed funding support for the Network for Public Health Law’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.

This fact sheet briefly discusses the efficacy of expired naloxone and examines whether South Carolina law permits the distribution and administration of such naloxone.

This fact sheet briefly discusses the efficacy of expired naloxone and examines whether North Carolina law permits the distribution and administration of such naloxone.

This fact sheet briefly discusses the efficacy of expired naloxone and examines whether Oregon law permits the distribution and administration of such naloxone.

by Overview 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. ET | December 15, 2021Attend this webinar for an examination of some of the most important and…

This fact sheet briefly discusses the efficacy of expired naloxone and examines whether Washington law permits the distribution and administration of such naloxone.

This fact sheet briefly discusses the efficacy of expired naloxone and examines whether California law permits the distribution and administration of such naloxone.

The United States remains in the grip of both COVID-19 and drug-related harm. Both are public health emergencies marked by tens of thousands of preventable deaths – and both disproportionately impact Black, Hispanic, Native, and other non-White people. Addressing the structural racism that drive inequality in access to economic opportunity, educational attainment, and other factors that ultimately drives health disparities must be a key public health priority – both during the dual COVID and overdose epidemics and beyond.  

The medications for opioid use disorder, methadone and buprenorphine, can reduce overdose deaths by over 50 percent. Unfortunately, many people who want to access these medications are unable to do so  because of federal and state legal restrictions, primarily the federal X-waiver, which a physician must obtain in order to prescribe these medications. While the requirement itself is statutory and can only be changed by Congress, the departments of Justice and Health and Human Services (HHS)  have a great deal of autonomy in determining its exact contours.

We conducted a systematic legal review to determine the prevalence and characteristics of state laws that require some or all hospital emergency departments to create protocols to screen patients for substance use disorder as well as those that require that hospitals take specific actions when providing care to such individuals or individuals who have experienced an overdose.