Amy Lieberman

In recognition of International Overdose Awareness Day on August 31, 2025, Network attorneys and staff have identified seven policies with the potential to improve overdose prevention and advance the health of people who use drugs across the United States. This policy brief covers a wide range of areas, including well known, evidence-based harm reduction strategies and frameworks, as well as more novel policies that intersect climate change and drug policy. 

At the end of April, harm reductionists from across the globe came together in Bogota, Colombia to attend the Harm Reduction International Conference. The impacts of U.S. funding cuts to international programs and the continued criminalization and forced treatment both in the U.S. and internationally have many in the harm reduction field alarmed.

Trump administration Executive Orders and dramatic cuts to the public health workforce, programs, and infrastructure, as well as policy changes regarding public health priorities have serious and far-reaching implications.  This webinar previews two sessions from the upcoming 2025 Public Health Law Conference. Presenters will discuss the current legal landscape in three critical areas.

Despite increasing acceptance of harm reduction as an important and necessary component of the country’s efforts to reduce the overwhelming number of opioid overdose deaths, harm reduction law and policy has seen both ups and downs in the past year. However, there is a movement to support people who use drugs, to improve the public’s health, to save lives, and to impart basic human dignity to all.   

This resource summarizes the characteristics of naloxone access and Good Samaritan laws in 50 states and the District of Columbia.

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.

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.

The Network for Public Health Law’s Harm Reduction Legal Project, in collaboration with ChangeLab Solutions, is hosting a series of four webinars funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to introduce two forthcoming resources that policy decision makers can use to support their work to advance policies to reduce overdose and other drug-related harm. Each webinar will introduce the resources, Preventing Overdose & Reducing Drug-Related Harm: A Policy Guide for State and Local Change and Implementing State and Local Overdose Prevention Policies: A Resource for Navigating the Policy Process. The individual webinars will additionally provide specific information on policies most relevant to one of four sectors: community, criminal/legal, healthcare, and schools (K-12). In this session – focused on the schools sector – a guest speaker will discuss their experience implementing harm reduction policies, including strategies and challenges, and answer questions from attendees.

The Network for Public Health Law’s Harm Reduction Legal Project, in collaboration with ChangeLab Solutions, is hosting a series of four webinars funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to introduce two forthcoming resources that policy decision makers can use to support their work to advance policies to reduce overdose and other drug-related harm. In this session – focused on the healthcare sector – a guest speaker will discuss their experience implementing harm reduction policies, including strategies and challenges, and answer questions from attendees.

The Network for Public Health Law’s Harm Reduction Legal Project, in collaboration with ChangeLab Solutions, is hosting a series of four webinars funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to introduce two forthcoming resources that policy decision makers can use to support their work to advance policies to reduce overdose and other drug-related harm. In this session – focused on the criminal/legal sector – a guest speaker will discuss their experience implementing harm reduction policies, including strategies and challenges, and answer questions from attendees.

In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, Network attorneys and staff have identified six key policies with the potential to significantly improve mental health outcomes across the United States. This policy brief covers a wide range of areas focused on communities and those who work to support communities. It is designed as a practical resource for public health professionals, leaders, and partners, offering strategies to enhance mental health and well-being while reducing disparities in mental health care.

Attend this webinar, co-sponsored by the Network’s Harm Reduction Legal Project and ChangeLab Solutions, to learn about resources communities can employ to support selecting, adopting, and implementing policies to reduce overdose and other drug-related harm. Law and policy experts will provide an overview of two recently published resources: Preventing Overdose and Reducing Drug-Related Harm: A Policy Guide for State and Local Change and Implementing State and Local Overdose Prevention Policies: A Resource for Navigating the Policy Process. Attendees will also hear from individuals working within their communities to implement harm reduction strategies and policies.