Evidence Library

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There are now 28 jurisdictions that allow patients to use medical marijuana. In addition, 24 states and the District of Columbia have authorized the operation of dispensaries that give citizens access to medical marijuana products. In those jurisdictions, various state departments are often responsible for developing and implementing the regulations for dispensaries. The regulations focusing on registration and licensing, the number of dispensaries allowed, their location, and operation are examined on this page.

 

In recent years, 27 states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana. All 28 jurisdictions authorize qualifying patients to appoint a caregiver or caregivers who can help patients acquire, transport or cultivate medical marijuana. Caregivers provide ailing patients with varying degrees of assistance based upon state statutory and regulatory limitations. This dataset analyzes state guidelines for medical marijuana caregivers, including caregiver qualifications and permissible caregiver activities.

 
Elizabeth Platt, Esq. •
Center for Public Health Law Research

Unintentional drug overdose is a leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Administering naloxone hydrochloride (“naloxone”) can reverse an opioid overdose and prevent unintentional death. Since 2001, states have enacted naloxone laws to increase access, simplify prescribing and dispensing by health care providers, and encourage its use by individuals in a position to assist a person experiencing a drug overdose.   

 

This preliminary dataset examines the laws and policies on medication assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder at state correctional facilities. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has approved three drugs for the treatment of opioid use disorder: buprenorphine, methadone, and naltrexone. Currently, Rhode Island is the only state that offers all three FDA-approved medications for MAT to all state inmates.  Some states provide all three medications at some of their correctional facilities.

 

The federal Medicaid Inmate Exclusion Policy (MIEP) generally prohibits federal matching funds from being used to pay for health care provided to most adults incarcerated in public institutions. For justice-involved individuals, this means that during incarceration the criminal justice system is responsible for inmate health care and that Medicaid enrollment may be either terminated or suspended, leading to gaps in Medicaid coverage at release.

 

This dataset examines statutes that authorize the prosecution of drug-related deaths as criminal killings. Oftentimes referred to as drug induced homicide laws, these laws establish criminal liability for individuals who furnish or deliver controlled substances to another individual who dies as a result. These laws vary from state to state in how they are classified, how they are sentenced, and what elements need to be proven. This dataset highlights these differences among state drug induced homicide laws. 

 

The Problem: Tobacco use is a source of chronic and fatal illnesses for users and people exposed to tobacco smoke. Second-hand smoke exposure contributes to 41,000 deaths among non-smoking adults, and 400 infants annually. Second-hand exposure can lead to stroke, lung cancer and coronary heart disease. Children exposed to second-hand smoke are at increased risk for slowed lung growth, asthma, acute respiratory infections, middle ear infections and sudden infant death syndrome.

 
Scott Burris, JD •
Center for Public Health Law Research
Evan Anderson, JD •
Center for Public Health Initiatives, University of Pennsylvania
Corey Davis, JD, MSPH •
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Leo Beletsky, JD, MPH •
Health in Justice Action Lab

A new Perspective article in the New England Journal of Medicine examines a recent decision by a Philadelphia judge to reject the argument that an overdose prevention site, called Safehouse, would violate the Controlled Substances Act.

The decision signals a move toward an approach to regulating drugs that minimizes both the harms of drugs and the harms caused by regulation itself – worthy goals all around, the authors write.

 

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