Drug Enforcement and Policy Center at Ohio State

DEPC's public resource page on kratom was recently included in this piece from Signal Ohio. Click through to read more or visit our page directly at moritzlaw.osu.edu/research/regulating-kratom-ohio-and-beyond.

Kratom to remain illegal in Ohio, judge rules, handing DeWine a win on drugs Ohio’s ban on processed forms of kratom will remain in place after a Franklin County judge ruled against its retailers, for now.

Uncertainty surrounding kratom scheduling and h**p bans continued in July at both the state and federal level. In our latest LinkedIn newsletter, learn more about our upcoming originalism symposium, state ballot measures, the Hemani decision, and more: https://bit.ly/3RC9pSt

Join Prevention First on August 25 to hear DEPC Executive Director and The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law Professor Douglas Berman provide an overview of the recent rescheduling of medical cannabis, including patient, policy, industry, and research impacts.

Learn more and register: https://bit.ly/4fQ8Jkd

If you're a medical ma*****na patient, potential patient, or recreational consumer, we want to hear about your experiences with Ohio's ma*****na program. The goal of this annual survey is to evaluate experiences and satisfaction with Ohio's ma*****na program to date. The survey takes approximately 5 to 10 minutes to complete, and its results are used for research purposes.

Take the brief survey before it closes: https://bit.ly/4tgKFvz

Have questions? Click through to learn more and to contact us.

Just one ma*****na-related measure will be on a state ballot in the 2026 election.

See the drug-related ballot initiatives that will be up for a vote and learn more about the Massachusetts measure on our resource page: https://bit.ly/4pua1WK

In part 2 of our discussion with guests Joel Johnson and Jake Charles of Pepperdine Caruso Law, we discuss the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Hemani and what it answers—and leaves unanswered—about ma*****na, the Second Amendment, and felon in possession laws.

Find links to listen: go.osu.edu/drugsonthedocket

On September 10-11, experts, skeptics, judges and academics will come together to discuss whether and how originalism should be applied to modern criminal justice issues. Join us in person for one event or the full symposium.

Read the full agenda and register at https://u.osu.edu/originalismandcriminaljustice?utm_campaign=claw_marketing-activity_fy27&utm_content=1785348015&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.

Did you miss last month's Drug Courts Webinar Series? While the research team finalizes a comprehensive report for the National Institute of Justice, read more about the research and access recordings in this new post from the Sentencing Matters Substack.

Webinar Series Highlights Racial Disparities in Drug Court Diversion Recent changes in the understanding of addiction have contributed to greater adoption of treatment‑based responses in drug policy, including the development of drug courts as alternatives for individuals charged with lower‑level, non‑violent offenses.

A new paper from DEPC Senior Researcher Pete Leasure and DEPC affiliated researcher Meghan O'Neil was recently published in Preventive Medicine Reports. The study found that firearm victimization was common among people receiving addiction treatment.

Read the full paper: https://bit.ly/4ffPbXB