*This submission is based on a book under contract to the American Psychiatric Association Publishing Company, tentatively titled “Addiction and the Law” This session will review important issues affecting persons with Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) in their interactions with the Legal System. Drs. Aoun, Pinals, and Westreich will address cutting edge matters relevant to the vast majority of persons with SUDs, and the clinicians who treat them. Over the past several years, the practice of addiction psychiatry and addiction medicine have received increased attention because of an improving awareness of the dual diagnoses of SUD and co-occurring mental illnesses, and because of the recent U.S. opioid crisis. Moreover, medical practices are, of necessity, expanding to incorporate substance use treatment as part of mainstream clinical care. Anyone who works with people with substance use disorders (SUDs) knows that there are innumerable interfaces between SUDs and the law. Individuals with SUDs may find themselves facing legal issues- whether through arrest, incarceration, DUIs, child custody disputes, employment issues, or court-ordered drug testing, administrative, regulatory and legal systems often have a critical role in how substance problems are addressed, and the result is often quite difficult given the awkward fit between current scientific and medical views and the black and white provisions of often outdated laws. Only by understanding the basics of both SUDs and governing laws can the practitioner navigate both systems in a manner that is both evidence-informed and relevant to the matter at hand.

• Attendees will understand the importance of both criminal and civil law to the lives of their patients diagnosed with Substance Use Disorders 
• Attendees will be able to discuss the legal system's pervasive use of various and disparate rubrics for SUDS: brain disorder, moral failing, and iatrogenic affliction, amongst others. 
• Attendees will appreciate the legal aspects of SUDs for pregnant women and families undergoing divorce proceedings.

• Forensic populations
• Civil Commitment for Substance Use Disorders
• Employment and Substance Use Disorder
• Pregnant and Incarcerated Women with SUDs
• Professional Athletes with SUD

Laurence Westreich, MD, Chairperson, Presenter

 

Elie Aoun, MD, MRO, FAPA, Presenter

  

General, Addictions and Forensic Psychiatrist
Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons - Division of Law, Ethics, and Psychiatry 

Debra Pinals, MD, Presenter

   

Debra A. Pinals, M.D. is Senior Medical and Forensic Advisor, National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors. She holds adjunct clinical professor appointments at the University of Michigan Medical School and Law School. As medical school faculty, she directs the Program in Psychiatry, Law and Ethics. Author of numerous academic and policy-level publications including “Beyond Beds: The Vital Role of the Psychiatric Continuum of Care,” she consults widely regarding behavioral health, crisis response, correctional and forensic services, including her work as an expert consultant to Pew Charitable Trusts. She and her colleagues have also written a forthcoming book, Addiction and the Law, published by the American Psychiatric Association Press, to be published in 2024.