On February 26, Ohio Academy of Family Physicians Executive Vice President Ann Spicer participated in a meeting of the Health Policy Institute of Ohio’s Addiction Evidence Project Advisory Group as the group begins work on its law enforcement and criminal justice phase. The phases of work pertaining to prevention, treatment and recovery, and overdose reversal/harm reduction are complete.
The group identified a framework of this phase as follows:
Law Enforcement
- Prescription drug diversion: Efforts to prevent, detect, and investigate the diversion of controlled substances which are being diverted from their lawful purpose into illicit drug traffic (including drug take-back programs).
- Interdiction of illicit drugs: The interception and act of prohibiting drug trafficking (including use of tactical diversion squads), including opioids, stimulants, marijuana, and other drugs.
- Quick Response Teams (QRT)/Drug Abuse Response Teams (DART) and connections to treatment: Law enforcement working to connect people to treatment, including the use integrated first responder units comprised law enforcement officers, rescue, personnel, health care professionals, and/or substance abuse counselors.
- Impaired driving arrests: Enforcement of laws prohibiting operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated (OVI).
Criminal Justice System
- Drug court and diversion programs: Specialty courts that present treatment-based alternative to formal processing through the traditional criminal justice system.
- Screening in criminal justice settings: Screening to assess the extent to which an addiction treatment plan is required and connecting incarcerated people to treatment includes screening for co-occurring mental health disorders.
- Treatment in criminal justice settings: Addiction treatment, including Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT), for people experiencing incarceration or community control (jails, prisons, community corrections).
- Reentry – onnections to treatment, recovery, and harm reduction: Efforts in the criminal justice system to connect formerly incarcerated people with services in supports in their communities, such as addiction treatment, recovery supports and harm reduction methods.
Ms. Spicer represents the OAFP on the advisory group.