In the Works has developed a new E-Course on Implementing Harm Reduction Vending Machines. This course guides participants through the steps of planning and setting up a successful program, aimed at expanding access to harm reduction supplies and promoting community safety through the implementation of vending machines.

Our partners at the National Harm Reduction Coalition have shared a curated list highlighting vetted support efforts led by harm reduction organizations in response to the recent wildfires. This includes details on needed supplies and opportunities to donate both for immediate relief and long-term rebuilding. While this list is not exhaustive, it prioritizes the needs of those most affected by the fires, based on the most current information available at the time of publication.

How can coalitions ensure the sustainability of overdose prevention efforts? The following summary highlights key sustainability practices implemented by overdose prevention coalitions that participated in the California Overdose Prevention Network (COPN) Accelerator 5.0 Program. These case studies offer valuable insights for other coalitions seeking to strengthen their infrastructure and sustain their initiatives over time.

The toolkit was conceived and developed by Arlene Brown, a member of the Bishop Paiute Tribe, with support from NHRC staff, including Jessica Smith. It draws on insights from Tribal and Urban Native communities throughout California and incorporates resources from Indigenous harm reduction leaders across the nation and beyond.

The El Dorado Coalition for Overdose Prevention and Education created a template to be used for other overdose prevention coalitions to use for outlining the overdose crisis locally, their coalition's history, achievements, and ways for new members to get involved. This fact sheet can serve as an effective tool for communication and engagement with the community, coalition partners, and local decision-makers.

The El Dorado Coalition for Overdose Prevention and Education created a template to be used for other overdose prevention coalitions to use for outlining the overdose crisis locally, their coalition's history, achievements, and ways for new members to get involved. This fact sheet can serve as an effective tool for communication and engagement with the community, coalition partners, and local decision-makers.

The following document summarizes recent policies in California aimed at overdose prevention, substance use disorders (SUD), and mental health based on a presentation by Riana King, Principal Consultant with the California Assembly Committee on Health, during the Summer 2024 COPN Convening. The legislative policies are categorized into four main areas: Funding Capacity, Treatment & Access, Harm Reduction & Prevention, and Oversight & Accountability.

Explore ASTHO’s Public Health Legal Mapping Center, which utilizes interactive tools to analyze state laws on overdose prevention and public health infrastructure, tracking changes and trends over time.

This journal article reviews the impact of a pilot study on the use of the Safety First real drug education with high school freshman and these findings had significant implications on reductions of overall substance use and increase in harm reduction in these freshman students.

This document is a Q & A with Matt Curtis, Harm Reduction Specialist at CDPH. All of this information was covered during the COPN webinar, Fentanyl Test Strips: Your Questions Answered, on Tuesday, April 12, 2022.

The National Center for Youth Law compiled laws of various subjects regarding minors.

California Family Code 6929 describes minor consent to drug services, and part (b) states that minors age 12+ may consent to diagnosis and treatment of drug/alcohol problems. Certainly doesn’t scream “give minors FTS and naloxone” but most law is parsimonious rather than narrowly prescriptive, and this is the legal basis we all use for youth overdose prevention services generally.

The Health and Safety Code, HSC 121349.1, allows the California Department of Public Health and local health departments to exempt SSPs from designated ‘paraphernalia’.

The California Health and Safety Code 11014.5 defines ‘drug paraphernalia’.

This assembly bill clarifies that fentanyl test strips are legal to distribute and possess in California.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announced that federal funding may now be used to purchase rapid fentanyl test strips (FTS) in an effort to help curb the dramatic spike in drug overdose deaths largely driven by the use of strong synthetic opioids, including illicitly manufactured fentanyl.