We were funded by the Drug Policy Alliance to analyze the legal issues for naloxone distribution programs in the fifty United States. Detailed state-by-state findings and tables are available via the links on the left side of this page. Our analysis finds, generally, that:
1) Naloxone is not a controlled substance as defined by the federal or state law, but is a prescription drug subject to the general laws and regulations that govern all prescriptions in regular medical practice.
2) Prescribing naloxone to ODUs is fully consistent with state and federal laws regulating drug prescribing.
3) Teaching overdose response techniques, including the administration of naloxone, to naloxone recipients and others who might be in a position to administer it to an ODU to whom it has been prescribed is legal and appropriate.
4) Naloxone may not be given to patients or participants in an overdose prevention program with the explicit purpose of encouraging them to distribute or administer the drug to other ODUs who are not patients.
5) Any legal risks in distributing naloxone are not substantial and can be mitigated by informed program design; the risks of malpractice liability are consistent with those generally associated with providing healthcare, and can be further minimized by following the guidelines we describe.
