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ORN Publishes SUD Resource Guide for Justice System
The Opioid Response Network, a SAMHSA-funded initiative led by the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry, has published a new educational resource guide for judges and others in the justice system that provides “foundational level understanding of the medical aspects of evidence-based practices needed in the prevention, identification and treatment of substance use disorders for individuals involved with the justice system.”
The guide—titled “Cultivating Law and Medicine Partnerships to Support Justice-Involved Individuals with Substance Use Disorders”—is free for all judges and justice/legal staff members.
“While being charged with maintaining the law, keeping communities safe, reducing recidivism and costs for the justice system, judges, like health professionals, are also on the front lines of addressing the increasing opioid overdose crisis and the rising rates of stimulant use,” Kathryn Cates-Wessel, CEO, AAAP and ORN principal investigator, said in a news release. “This resource guide was created to fill a critical gap in an understanding of the medical aspects of substance use disorders and co-occurring psychiatric disorders.”
The guide was developed in partnership with the National Judicial Opioid Task Force, which is comprised of judicial leaders working with AAAP addiction psychiatrists, the Conference of Chief Justices, and the Conference of State Court Administrators. AAAP noted in a news release that the document is, in part, built off previous work from the Physicians and Lawyers for National Drug Policy at Brown University’s Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, as well as a 2019 training program at the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada.
