Dr. Joshua D. Lee, M.D., MSc, is an Associate Professor of Population Health and Medicine/General Internal Medicine and Clinical Innovation at the NYU School of Medicine

This webcast was developed for judges—whether presiding over state, municipal, general jurisdiction, treatment/specialty courts and/or whether they are law trained or not).

Alcohol and drug use disorders are associated with criminal behavior, arrest, and incarceration. Effective treatments are needed to reduce the burden of alcohol and drug use disorders on public safety and on the public health. Fortunately, there are three medications (antabuse, acamprosate, and naltrexone) that are FDA-approved for the treatment of alcohol dependence and three medications (methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone) that are approved for the treatment of opiate dependence. This presentation will review how these medications work, what the evidence of their effectiveness is, and how they are used in the community. The underutilization of these medications among individuals involved in the criminal justice system presents an exciting opportunity to expand their use and improve both public safety and public health outcomes.

At the conclusion of this activity, learners should be able to:

• Summarize what Medication Treatment (MAT) is;
• Describe why MAT is an effective tool, when used with substance abuse therapy, in treating alcohol and drug addiction;
• Cite what drugs are used in MAT and define how each works