Opioid Summit II: Addressing Legal Barriers to Addiction Care and Treatment | May 13-14, 2021
Opioid Summit II was co-sponsored by the ABA Senior Lawyers Division, American Medical Association (AMA), and the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM). The Summit brought together the presidents of the ABA, AMA, and ASAM; 14 ABA sections, divisions, standing committees, and commissions as co-sponsors; and 35 of the leading national experts on the crisis.
The goal of the Summit was to find legal and medical legal solutions focused on ending the nation’s opioid epidemic. It built on the Senior Lawyers Division’s 2018 Opioid Summit which examined the extent of the crisis and built awareness of its seriousness to American families and the legal profession. Opioid Summit II focused on ending the crisis by exploring legal and medical issues in addressing the epidemic; criminal enforcement and the line between care and criminalization; a strategic look at ending the epidemic; the impact of the structural discrimination on marginalized populations with substance use disorder; and recommendations for ending the epidemic. The Summit’s goal was on finding legal solutions to improve treatment of people with substance use disorders, whether by creating new laws or by amending or simply enforcing existing laws.
Recommendations from the Summit are being prepared, along with a detailed report, to support a resolution for the ABA House of Delegates 2022 Midyear Meeting and for the governing bodies of the AMA and ASAM.
Opioid Summit II Documents:
- ABA, AMA, and ASAM Presidents' Welcoming Remarks
- Agenda and Speakers
- Non-Exhaustive List of Useful Background Information
Co-Sponsors:
- ABA Senior Lawyers Division
- American Medical Association
- American Society of Addiction Medicine
ABA Co-Sponsors
- Center for Professional Responsibility
- Center on Children and the Law
- Commission on Disability Rights
- Commission on Law and Aging
- Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs
- Criminal Justice Section
- Government and Public Sector Lawyers Division
- Health Law Section
- Section of Intellectual Property Law
- Section of State and Local Government Law
- Solo, Small Firm, and General Practice Division
- Standing Committee on Bar Activities and Services
- Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigents Defense