The focus of this course is on the drug abuse, addiction, and opioid crisis ~ a public health disaster that is currently besieging the nation. The words in the course title are based on the wording of the mandate of The President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis. Over the past several years, this crisis has emerged as a significant area of concern in the emergency management field. In 2018, many see the problem as having reached critical proportions. The objective of the course is to study the nature and scope of the problem and its causes and possible cures. Strategies, policies, and approaches designed to address this public health disaster will be explored. Lessons learned from the past efforts by the U.S. and other nations to address similar public health crises will be identified and the applicability of these lessons to the current crisis will be discussed.

 

Offered as part of the Emergency Management certificate program.