Thursday, September 27, 11:30am-7:30pm; Friday, September 28, 8:30am-6pm; OSU Moritz School of Law [Drinko Hall] [William B. Saxbe Law Auditorium], 55 W. 12th Ave.

Over the last decade, the United States has found itself in the middle of a drug overdose crisis. Provisional data for 2016 put the number of overdose fatalities at over 64,000 — a staggering 22 percent increase from the year before. And the state of Ohio is at the epicenter. In 2016, Ohio ranked second in the nation in drug overdose death rates (at 39.1 per 100,000) and third in the nation in the total number of deaths (4,329), which translates into nearly 12 citizens losing their lives to a drug overdose each day.

This conference will explore the impact of criminal justice laws and policies in compounding drug use harms, including overdose deaths, and offer an alternative framework for addressing problematic drug use and drug-related fatalities that is rooted in evidence, compassion, and the principles of harm reduction.

Hosted by Drug Policy Alliance, Ohio State University Moritz College of Law Drug Enforcement and Policy Center, Harm Reduction Ohio, and ACLU of Ohio.

Free.

Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/from-punishment-to-public-health-ending-the...