Fatal Re-Entry: Legal and Programmatic Opportunities to Curb Opioid Overdose Among Individuals Newly Released from Incarceration

63 Pages Posted: 12 Jul 2015

See all articles by Leo Beletsky

Leo Beletsky

Northeastern University - School of Law; Northeastern University - Bouvé College of Health Sciences; Division of Infectious Disease and Global Public Health, UCSD School of Medicine

Lindsay LaSalle

Drug Policy Alliance

Michelle Newman

Northeastern University - School of Law

Janine Paré

Northeastern University - School of Law

James Tam

Northeastern University - School of Law

Alyssa Tochka

Boston University - School of Law

Date Written: July 1, 2015

Abstract

The United States is in the midst of a public health crisis: Every year, well over 24,000 Americans die from opioid overdose. This staggering death toll is equivalent to a weekly jumbo jet crash. After a decade of rapid growth, overdose caused by prescription opioids and heroin now tops the accidental death rankings, beating out automobile accidents, AIDS, and other high-profile killers. Overdose does not discriminate, cutting across all geographic, economic, and racial divides. But some groups are especially vulnerable. This article is dedicated to one such group: individuals re-entering the community from correctional settings. In the immediate two weeks after release, people in this group are almost 130 times more likely to die of an overdose than the general population.

It is easy to cast post-incarceration substance use — and consequent overdose — as the re-entering individual’s character weakness or a propensity towards reckless behavior. Nevertheless, modern addiction science reframes such relapse as a foreseeable consequence of the chronic nature of substance use disorders. This scientific evidence also provides clear guidance on how most of the resulting fatalities can be prevented. This article considers the creation of fatal overdose risk among formerly incarcerated individuals as an unacceptable collateral harm emanating from criminal justice involvement.

In order to address this largely overlooked public health problem, we explore a range of legal channels that can help persuade the state (broadly construed) to address a risk to which it substantially contributes. We consider a number of doctrinal approaches, guided by the belief that spending time behind bars must not translate to a death sentence for so many Americans. Whether as a part of possible legal actions or an action agenda on its own right, we present a number of programmatic interventions and policy reforms that may alleviate this crisis. Our analysis also highlights the potential role of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in facilitating overdose prevention before, during and post-incarceration. This agenda is especially timely given the current move by federal and state governments towards releasing large numbers of individuals incarcerated on drug-related charges to ease prison over-crowding or as a result of legal reforms, pardons, or exonerations.

In Section I, we provide an overview of the opioid overdose epidemic and the special vulnerability among criminal justice-involved individuals. In Section II, we examine the scientific evidence on prevention measures that should be, but are currently rarely deployed to address this vulnerability. In Section III, we explore various legal theories that could be invoked in efforts to motivate government actors to take a greater responsibility for preventing post-incarceration overdose deaths. In Section IV, we cover additional mechanisms to motivate institutional change. We conclude by outlining a policy and programmatic agenda for reducing the vulnerability of criminal justice-involved individuals to opioid overdose.

Suggested Citation

Beletsky, Leo and LaSalle, Lindsay and Newman, Michelle and Paré, Janine and Tam, James and Tochka, Alyssa, Fatal Re-Entry: Legal and Programmatic Opportunities to Curb Opioid Overdose Among Individuals Newly Released from Incarceration (July 1, 2015). Northeastern University Law Journal, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 155-215 (2015), Northeastern University School of Law Research Paper No. 235-2015, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2628297

Leo Beletsky (Contact Author)

Northeastern University - School of Law; Northeastern University - Bouvé College of Health Sciences ( email )

416 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
United States
617-373-5540 (Phone)

Division of Infectious Disease and Global Public Health, UCSD School of Medicine ( email )

9500 Gilman Drive
MC 0507
La Jolla, CA 92093
United States

Lindsay LaSalle

Drug Policy Alliance ( email )

131 West 33rd St., 15th Floor
330 7th Avenue, 21st Floor
New York, NY 10001
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.drugpolicy.org/about-us/staff-and-board/staff/lindsay-lasalle-staff-attorney

Michelle Newman

Northeastern University - School of Law ( email )

416 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
United States

Janine Paré

Northeastern University - School of Law ( email )

416 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
United States

James Tam

Northeastern University - School of Law ( email )

416 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
United States

Alyssa Tochka

Boston University - School of Law ( email )

765 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02215
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
455
Abstract Views
4,991
Rank
115,838
PlumX Metrics