|
CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control and
the Public Health Law Program convened a meeting in Atlanta on December
2-3, 2008 called “Promising Legal Responses to the Epidemic of Prescription
Drug Overdoses in the United States.” The goal of the meeting was
the identification of legal measures that could be taken at the
state level to prevent the growing problem of prescription overdoses.
Experts with personal experience were invited to describe different
strategies, and the strengths and weaknesses of each approach were
discussed. A secondary goal of the meeting was to identify opportunities
for future collaboration on this issue between public health and
legal professionals.
Participants at the one-and-a-half day meeting
included representatives of state organizations such as the
State and Territorial Injury Prevention Directors Association,
the Association
of State and Territorial Health Officials, the Council of State and
Territorial Epidemiologists, and federal agencies such as the Food
and Drug Administration and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Individuals from selected state health departments and state prescription
drug monitoring programs also attended. Representatives of the legal
profession included practicing attorneys and a representative of
the National Association of Attorney Generals. The meeting was divided
into three parts: An introduction to the problem, strategies related
to prescription drug monitoring programs, and other strategies.
Click here for the proceedings of "Promising Legal Responses to
the Epidemic of Prescription Drug Overdoses in the United
States." |
