What Massachusetts can teach us about police-assisted referral programs for substance use disorders REVIEW OF: Melissa Davoust et al., “Examining the implementation of police-assisted referral programs for substance use disorder services in Massachusetts,” REVIEWED BY: Stacey McKenna, PhD In 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 70,630 [2] people in the United States died of a drug overdose. Estimates suggest that number was even higher in 2020 [3]. Research increasingly demonstrates that the illicit nature of many substances and the consequent interactions [4] with law enforcement contribute to drug-related harms, including overdose risk. In response to this information, communities are seeking alternative approaches. In the United States, one strategy has been to reimagine the role of police when it comes to drug use. Hundreds of police departments [5] from Arizona to Massachusetts have partnered with the nonprofit organization Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (PAARI) to implement police-assisted referral programs. While the specifics of these programs differ by city and circumstance—some focus on community and home outreach while others suspend consequences while encouraging individuals to actively seek assistance—the general goal is to “create non-arrest pathways to treatment and recovery [6],” by connecting individuals with substance use disorder (SUD) services.