News & Insights

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.

Even though cannabis is still illegal under federal law; most Americans (91 percent) favor the legalization of cannabis either for medical or recreational use. This is a serious change in public opinion. In 2010, 52 percent of Americans opposed the legalization of cannabis. This more accepting view of cannabis appeared in the 2020 election, with five states legalizing cannabis through ballot measures. With the legalization trend, it is important to understand the legal process behind the ballot measures that have been central to changing state cannabis laws.

Public health law and policy stories that made headlines recently include mask requirements in schools, SNAP enrollment amidst COVID-19, reparations as a means to address health disparities for Black communities, a Supreme Court Ruling on the ACA’s contraceptive care mandate, U.S. withdrawal from W.H.O., evictions and vulnerable populations, and more.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created the challenge for states to provide safe conditions for individuals to vote in the upcoming Presidential election. In two southwestern states, public health executive orders (New Mexico) and legal challenges (Arizona) have been seen ahead of the upcoming election related to voting conditions and voter registrations.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created the challenge for states to provide safe conditions for individuals to vote in the upcoming Presidential election. In two southwestern states, public health executive orders (New Mexico) and legal challenges (Arizona) have been seen ahead of the upcoming election related to voting conditions and voter registrations.

In the U.S., criminal defendants have the right to be represented by an attorney and states and jurisdictions must provide an attorney free of charge to defendants who cannot afford one. Advocates have sought the same right for citizens facing civil cases, including evictions. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought light to the eviction crisis, the critical need for housing stability, and the role that lawyers can play in protecting tenants from unlawful and abusive eviction.

In this Q&A, Denise Chrysler, director and Peter Jacobson, co-director, of the Network’s Mid-States Region Office, discuss some of the key elements in the chapter they co-authored, Executive Decision Making for COVID-19: Public Health Science through a Political Lens, for the Report.

The Network has partnered with All In Data for Community Health on a series of webinars focused on racial equity and data integration. In this excerpt of a webinar Q&A, Sallie Milam, Deputy Director of the Network’s Mid-States Region, shares her perspective on why racial equity matters and where trust-building can occur in the data life cycle, including her work with Tribal communities.

COVID-19 has resulted in business closures across the country as Governors and state health officials attempt to prevent spread of the virus. Resistance to these closures engenders legal arguments grounded in economic due process (EDP) and the “right to work.”

Today, home broadband service can connect people to a wide range of services that support healthy outcomes; however broadband is one of the most unequal essential services in the United States. Individuals who lack high-speed broadband service at home are unable to access their classrooms, jobs and job opportunities, telehealth services, social supports, civic opportunities, and even disaster relief information.

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.

As the COVID-19 pandemic persists in the United States, climate change and weather-related health risks, such as hurricanes, wildfires, and extreme heat, will put even greater pressure on the nation’s health and healthcare resources. There are short-term actions that can be taken to protect the health of vulnerable people along with longer-term solutions that can create equitable and resilient communities that can better respond to future disasters.