Category: Advocacy Organizations

The California Overdose Prevention Network (COPN) is a network for coalitions, organizations, and individuals working at the forefront of the overdose epidemic. Since 2017, COPN has led the effort to provide a statewide forum for coalitions, organizations, and individuals working to combat the overdose crisis in California. COPN is the largest overdose prevention network in the country, with active coalitions serving 85% of California’s 33 million people. In 2018, COPN launched an Accelerator Program to support local coalitions to strive for greater impact within their communities. Their work is focused on preventing new addictions, increasing access to treatment, and stopping overdose deaths. The Santa Barbara Opioid Safety Coalition is one of over 30 coalitions that have participated in the Accelerator Program to share ideas, learn better methods, and discover the latest strategies to prevent new addictions, increase access to treatment, and stop overdose deaths.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is the agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that leads public health efforts to advance the behavioral health of the nation and to improve the lives of individuals living with mental and substance use disorders, and their families. SAMHSA provides leadership and resources – programs, policies, information and data, funding, and personnel – to advance mental and substance use disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery services in order to improve individual, community, and public health.

The California Society of Addiction Medicine (CSAM) is the largest state chapter of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) comprised of physicians and other healthcare professionals who are dedicated to improving the treatment of substance use disorders. With over 700 members, CSAM offers education, advocacy, and leadership in influential state and national roles.

The California MAT Expansion Project aims to increase access to Medications for Addiction Treatment (MAT), reduce unmet treatment need, and reduce opioid overdose deaths through prevention, treatment, and recovery activities. The project also includes media campaigns, engagement of opioid safety coalitions, naloxone distribution, drug take-back efforts, and supportive housing.

The Drug Policy Alliance is an advocacy organization focused on advancing policies and attitudes that best reduce the harms of both drug use and drug prohibition, and promote the sovereignty of individuals over their minds and bodies. The Drug Policy Alliance envisions a just society in which the use and regulation of drugs are grounded in science, compassion, health and human rights, in which people are no longer punished for what they put into their own bodies but only for crimes committed against others, and in which the fears, prejudices and punitive prohibitions of today are no more.

The National Harm Reduction Coalition is a nationwide advocate and ally for people who use drugs. Their website provide information on the principles of harm reduction and offers resources and online trainings at the national and local level regarding harm reduction strategies. The California Chapter of the Harm Reduction Coalition, located in Oakland, provides harm reduction resources for people who use drugs in California.

CA Bridge was officially launched in 2018 with a grant from the California Department of Health Care Services MAT Expansion Project and is a program of the Public Health Institute, based in Oakland, California. Their vision is that all hospitals will treat opioid addiction:

“We are disrupting the addiction treatment landscape by championing the idea that substance use disorder is a condition that can, and should, be treated by medical professionals like any other life-threatening condition. Most medical providers do not view addiction treatment as part of their job, so people who use drugs are often stigmatized, sometimes treated for other conditions, and sent on their way with a list of often inaccessible specialty addiction clinics. Our goal is to transform addiction treatment by ensuring that every hospital in California provides 24/7 access to evidence-based care.”

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Choose Change California is a statewide campaign from the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) that is dedicated to:

• Increasing awareness of Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) and the services available to those seeking treatment—primarily through Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT).
• Increasing awareness of Stimulant Use Disorder and the services available to those seeking treatment—primarily through behavioral interventions and practices.
• Reducing the stigma surrounding OUD and Stimulant Use Disorder and treatment. OUD and Stimulant Use Disorder are no different than any other disease that requires medication to treat it.
• Providing an easy pathway for the California population most impacted by OUD and Stimulant Use Disorder to ask for help.