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

Determining Whether Federal Law Prohibits the Mailing of Naloxone

Law & Policy InsightsHarm Reduction Legal ProjectHarm Reduction Legal Project ResourcesOpioid Misuse and Overdose PreventionSubstance Use Prevention and Harm Reduction

December 3, 2020
by Corey Davis

The Network’s Harm Reduction Legal Project 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. One of the questions frequently received by the Project is whether federal law prohibits harm reduction organizations and similar groups who are authorized to distribute naloxone from mailing the medication.

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Q&A: Access to Care for Individuals with Opioid Use Disorder

Law & Policy InsightsCOVID-19Harm Reduction Legal ProjectHarm Reduction Legal Project ResourcesSubstance Use Prevention and Harm Reduction

October 6, 2020
by Amy Lieberman and Corey Davis

In this Q&A, Corey Davis, deputy director of the Network’s Southeastern Region Office and director of the Network’s Harm Reduction Legal Project; and Amy Lieberman, senior attorney, for the Network’s Harm Reduction Legal Project, discuss some of the key elements in the chapter they authored, Access to Care for Individuals with Opioid Use Disorder, for the Report.

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Legality of Dispensing and Administering Expired Naloxone in Georgia

Fact SheetSubstance Use Prevention and Harm ReductionHarm Reduction Legal Project ResourcesHarm Reduction Legal ProjectOpioid Misuse and Overdose Prevention

June 4, 2020
by Amy Lieberman and Corey Davis

While states have passed various laws designed to increase access to naloxone, a life-saving opioid overdose reversal medication, none explicitly address the legality of dispensing naloxone that is past its expiration date. This fact sheet discusses whether Georgia laws forbid the prescription, dispensing, distribution, possession, or administration of expired naloxone and whether such actions impact the risk of civil liability for medical professionals who prescribe or dispense naloxone or laypeople who distribute or administer it.

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Legality of Dispensing and Administering Expired Naloxone in the District of Columbia

Fact SheetSubstance Use Prevention and Harm ReductionHarm Reduction Legal Project ResourcesHarm Reduction Legal ProjectOpioid Misuse and Overdose Prevention

May 21, 2020
by Amy Lieberman and Corey Davis

This fact sheet discusses whether District of Columbia laws forbid the prescription, dispensing, distribution, possession, or administration of expired naloxone and whether such actions impact the risk of civil liability for medical professionals who prescribe or dispense naloxone or laypeople who distribute or administer it.

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Drug Enforcement Administration Waives Some Barriers to Medications for Opioid Use Disorder in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic

Law & Policy InsightsCOVID-19Harm Reduction Legal ProjectSubstance Use Prevention and Harm ReductionHealth and Health Care

May 20, 2020
by Corey Davis

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has temporarily waived or clarified several regulations that may act as barriers to providing life-saving medications to those undergoing treatment for opioid use disorder during the COVID-19 Pandemic. These changes have the potential to dramatically increase access to these medication and the DEA should strongly consider extending many of these changes for the duration of the opioid public health emergency, which will remain even after the threat from COVID-19 subsides.

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COVID-19 Pandemic Prompts Federal Agencies to Reduce Restrictions on Medications for Opioid Use Disorder

Law & Policy InsightsCOVID-19Substance Use Prevention and Harm ReductionHarm Reduction Legal ProjectTelehealth

March 21, 2020
by Corey Davis

The medications methadone and buprenorphine are extremely effective in reducing the harms associated with opioid use disorder. In light of the ongoing public health emergency associated with COVID-19 the federal government has recently taken a number of steps to increase access to these lifesaving medications.

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Overdose “Good Samaritan” Laws Should Protect, Not Punish

Law & Policy InsightsSubstance Use Prevention and Harm ReductionOpioid Misuse and Overdose PreventionHarm Reduction Legal ProjectHarm Reduction Legal Project Resources

January 26, 2020
by Corey Davis

Overdose “Good Samaritan” laws are theoretically designed to encourage people to call for help in an overdose emergency by providing limited legal immunity to overdose victims and those who seek help for them, but many of these laws currently have limitations that discourage people from seeking help.

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Legality of Dispensing Naloxone to Minors in Maryland

Fact SheetSubstance Use Prevention and Harm ReductionHarm Reduction Legal Project ResourcesHarm Reduction Legal ProjectOpioid Misuse and Overdose Prevention

January 26, 2020
by Corey Davis

Opioid overdose is reversible through the timely administration of the medication naloxone and, where needed, the provision of other emergency care. In an attempt to reverse this epidemic of preventable overdose deaths, every state and the District of Columbia have modified their laws to increase access to naloxone, the standard first-line treatment for opioid overdose.

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