Vernellia Ruth Randall, RN, MSN, JD, School of Law, The University of Dayton, 300 College Park, Dayton, OH 45469-2772, 937/229-3378, randall@udayton.edu

Civil rights and human rights law are underutilized tools in drug policy in the United States. Much of the public health attention and research has focused on legal and policy applications to addressing tobacco and to some extent alcohol but public policy to address illicit drugs has primarily focused on criminal justice issues. This presentation examines a groundbreaking partnership between community residents in Dayton, Ohio and the University of Dayton Law School’s Institute on Race, Healthcare and the Law to apply these laws in a comprehensive way that connects issues of institutional racism, access to treatment and legal fairness in ways that result in new policies and policy standards.

Learning Objectives:

• to help ATOD professionals and policy advocates better understand the relationship of public policy and institutional racism to addressing ATOD problems; to familiarize ATOD professionals and advocates with policy tools in civil and human rights frameworks to support their work; to provide concrete examples of these tools applied in the context of "community recovery" as an effective intervention to address ATOD problems; and to encourage better ATOD policy advocacy practice

Keywords: Human Rights, Social Justice

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.