Following Rhode Island, Minnesota has become the second state to officially support overdose prevention centers (OPCs). OPCs are vital in the fight against overdose deaths. They are a proven tool to prevent fatal overdoses. DPA is leading the charge for OPCs across the country.

Vermont lawmakers have passed legislation that will expand life-saving harm reduction services. The law will also increase access to drug checking, drug treatment, and overdose-reversal medication naloxone. DPA worked with the Decriminalize Vermont grassroots coalition to get the bill passed. 

The RESTORE Act would end the lifetime federal ban on people with felony drug convictions accessing a federal food stamp program. The program is called Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). DPA is spearheading federal advocacy efforts to repeal this ban. The ban is a painful reminder of the harm that drug war policies cause, especially to Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and low-income communities. 

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the HALT Fentanyl Act. This dangerous legislation would increase mandatory minimum sentencing for fentanyl analogues. It would also permanently schedule all fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I without testing them for benefits or harm. DPA is working to prevent the passage of this legislation. See DPA's director of federal affairs, Maritza Perez Medina, quoted in the Washington Post.