Strategies

Provide outreach and support to assist those whose employers do not offer affordable coverage, who are self-employed, or who are unemployed

Increase patients’ health-related knowledge via efforts to simplify health education materials, improve patient-provider communication, and increase overall literacy

Require wholesalers or retailers to record an identification number for beer kegs and a purchaser’s information (e.g., name and address, date of birth, etc.) at the time of purchase

Allow eligible patients to use marijuana for medical purposes; often called medical marijuana laws (MMLs)

Regulate mental health insurance to increase access to mental health services, including treatment for substance use disorders

Maintain the current legal age when an individual can purchase alcoholic beverages; currently 21 years in all states

Support a combination of land uses (e.g., residential, commercial, recreational) in development initiatives, often through zoning regulations or Smart Growth initiatives

Distribute Naloxone to trained community members and first responders to reverse opioid overdoses

Establish roads that avoid built-up areas such as towns, cities, or commercial/business districts

Use databases, housed in state agencies, to track prescribing and dispensing of Schedule II, III, IV, and V drugs and other controlled substances