The Buffalo Opioid Intervention Court began in 2017 after several drug court participants experienced fatal overdoses within a single week. It is the first opioid-specific drug court in the United States.

Individuals that are arrested and qualify for the opioid court will be diverted at arraignment to be initiated on medication treatment (buprenorphine, methadone, or extended-release naltrexone depending on the preferences of the individual). Alternatively, the program also supports an abstinence-based pathway (no medication treatment). After being stabilized on medications, the participants are linked to ancillary services, which usually consists of 90 days of outpatient treatment with counseling along with linkage to social services. In addition, accountability is provided by both daily court appearances and urine drug screens. 

An overview of the Buffalo Opioid Intervention Court can be found here. More information about this special type of drug court can be found in the presentations here and here, the video here, and the news article here. More information on opioid intervention courts in general can be found here. 

This program is currently being independently evaluated. It has been replicated throughout New York State and the entire network of opioid courts is currently being evaluated. Preliminary evidence suggests that these types of courts are better than traditional drug courts at improving outcomes among people with opioid use disorder and connecting them to evidence-based treatment options with medication.