Opioid Use Disorders | Center for Law and the Public's Health

The morbidity and mortality associated with opioid use disorders – which encompass licit and illicit opioid use – poses a significant public health challenge. At the federal, state, and local levels, law has been used to prevent and mitigate opioid use disorders. In conjunction with the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy, Center faculty have used legal, qualitative, and quantitative research methods to analyze whether and how laws are impacting this epidemic.

Selected Project:

Effect of Interorganizational Relationships and Infrastructure Variation on Public Health System Efforts to Address Prescription Drug Abuse

Selected Publications:

Rutkow L, Smith KC, Lai AY, Vernick JS, Davis CS, Alexander GC. Prescription drug monitoring program design and function: a qualitative analysis. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2017;180:395-400.
Rutkow L, Vernick JS, Alexander GC. More states should regulate pain management clinics to promote public health. Am J Public Health. 2017;107(2):240-243.
Chang HY, Lyapustina T, Rutkow L, Daubresse M, Richey M, Faul M, Stuart EA, Alexander GC. Impact of prescription drug monitoring programs and pill mill laws on high-risk opioid prescribers: a comparative interrupted time series analysis. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2016;165:1-8.
Lyapustina T, Rutkow L, Chang HY, Daubresse M, Ramji AF, Faul M, Stuart EA, Alexander GC. Effect of “pill mill” law on opioid prescribing and utilization: the case of Texas. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2016;159:190-197.
Rutkow L, Chang HY, Daubresse M, Webster DW, Stuart EA, Alexander GC. Effect of Florida’s prescription drug monitoring program and pill mill laws on opioid prescribing and use. JAMA Intern Med. 2015;175(10):1642-1649.