Strategies

Use mass media campaigns to persuade individuals to avoid drinking and driving or to prevent others from doing so; campaigns often focus on the negative consequences of alcohol-impaired driving

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

Provide medications such as methadone to individuals diagnosed with opioid use disorder in outpatient, residential, and hospital settings, usually with counseling and behavioral therapies; often called MAT

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

Provide physical infrastructure (e.g., bike parking or showers), educational or social support (e.g., walking groups), and financial incentives that support active commuting

Support community members who are likely to encounter individuals who might overdose with education and training to administer naloxone and ensure all first responders are trained and authorized to administer naloxone

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

Establish programs that accept expired, unwanted, or unused medicines from designated users and dispose of them responsibly