Understanding the regulatory landscape to prevent opioid-related harm in the United States

Abstract

In response to the opioid overdose crisis, certain laws, policies, regulations, and guidelines have been passed or issued at the federal, state, and local levels with the intention of mitigating the harms of opioid misuse and opioid use disorder. Although numerous studies have examined the effect of specific types of opioid-related laws, little attention has been paid to the complexity of the legal landscape and the implications of that complexity for the crisis. Disentangling the legal landscape is critical to better understand the differential impact that federal, state, and local decisions can have on opioid-related harms. This paper provides a baseline understanding of how these policy tools function and is aimed toward public health professionals, policy analysts, and everyone who is evaluating the public response to the opioid overdose crisis.