Legal Considerations

Legal considerations should not prevent anyone from prescribing naloxone. Excellent resources are available for the legal community and medical providers to feel comfortable with prescribing naloxone for overdose prevention. Also, see the statement by the North Carolina Medical Board supporting naloxone distribution.

Closing Death's Door: Action Steps to Facilitate Emergency Opioid Drug Overdose Reversal in the United States, Beletsky L, Burris S, Kral A. 2009. Social Science Research Network

• With support from Drug Policy Alliance, the authors convened a summit on opioid overdose in which experts from the field of drug policy, opioid overdose, medicine and public health discussed strategies for preventing avoidable overdose by increasing access to naloxone and important basic overdose education. This White Paper presents the findings from the conference and sets forth recommendations for increasing access to this life saving intervention.

Stopping an Invisible Epidemic: Legal Issues in the Provision of Naloxone to Prevent Opioid Overdose, Burris S, Beletsky L, Castagna C, Coyle C, Crowe C, McLaughlin JM. Drexel Law Review.

• This Article comprehensively examines the legal barriers overdose prevention programs must surmount.  Part II describes the epidemic and the current interventions.  Part III  addresses the legal issues that arise in public health programs that provide naloxone to opioid drug users (ODUs).