Health Law Professors Collaborate on IU Addictions Crisis Grand Challenges Project
03/01/2018
A project at Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law is one of 16 chosen for Phase One of Indiana University’s statewide Responding to the Addictions Crisis Grand Challenges Initiative.
Legal and Policy Best Practices in Response to the Opioid Epidemic is a collaboration between Ross D. Silverman, Professor of Health Policy and Management at the IU Fairbanks School of Public Health and Professor of Public Health and Law at IU McKinney, and Nicolas P. Terry, Hall Render Professor of Law and executive director of the Hall Center for Law and Health at the law school.
As part of IU's $50 million commitment to prevent, reduce and treat addictions in Indiana, Professors Silverman and Terry will look at ways to develop evidence-based law and policy recommendations that improve substance use health outcomes.
IU announced the launch of Phase One, including the McKinney project, in February. The initial pilot grants feature collaborative teams of faculty members, researchers, community organizations and cross-sector partners. Together, the projects will address all five focus areas of the statewide initiative: ground-level data collection and analysis; training and education; policy analysis and development; addictions science; and community and workforce development.
Here's what the IU McKinney team had to say about its involvement:
Q. How did the law school become involved in Phase One of Indiana University’s Responding to the Addictions Crisis Grand Challenges Initiative?
A. Professor Nicolas Terry serves on the Scientific Leadership Team for IU’s Grand Challenge, “Responding to the Addictions Crisis.” Additionally, Professor Silverman, along with Terry, are Co-Principal investigators on the Grand Challenge grant “Legal & Policy Best Practices in Response to the Substance Use Crisis.” The grant team expanded to include Visiting Assistant Professor Aila Hoss, who has been appointed as an IU Grand Challenge Fellow, as well as research assistants from the law school and the IU Fairbanks School of Public Health.
The team is pictured above (from left): law student Rebecca Critser, Visiting Assistant Professor Hoss, law student Emily Beukema, IU Fairbanks School of Public Health student Catherine Sterling, Professor Terry, and Professor Silverman.
Q. What happens next?
A. First, we are learning from the efforts undertaken by Governor Holcomb’s Commission to Combat Drug Abuse; the Indiana legislature; the court system; as well as initiatives led by state and local agencies, law enforcement, care providers, and communities. We also are conducting in-depth interviews of stakeholders and experts from across Indiana and the nation to better understand how law supports or hinders outcomes related to the opioid crisis. Finally, we are conducting original research and analysis on an array of legal and policy issues that impact opioid supply and demand, harm-reduction, and treatment.
Q. Clearly, this problem of an opioid epidemic didn't happen overnight, but there's a lot of urgency in finding solutions. What outcomes do you hope to see?
A. The opioid epidemic is one of the most complex challenges affecting the health of Indiana residents. By bringing together a multidisciplinary collaboration to identify and recommend evidence-based and evidence-informed responses, we hope our efforts will be a positive force for improvement.
