A potentially landmark settlement could establish new legal protections for harm reduction services for people with substance use disorder (SUD) under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Why it’s important: The ADA has previously been used to preserve access to SUD treatment, particularly medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD). But a new settlement sets a precedent that the ADA applies not just to treatment, but also to harm reduction services.

The details:

The suit was brought by local ministry Gather Church against Lewis County, WA. Gather Church is largely focused on providing aid through its food bank and addiction-related services including an MOUD clinic and syringe exchange program.
In 2024, Lewis County passed a zoning ordinance that restricted Gather Church from operating its mobile syringe exchange, barred it from distributing fentanyl and xylazine test strips, and prohibited it from operating within 750 feet of a school, library, or public park.
Gather Church sued the county, which opted to settle and repeal the ordinance.

The bigger picture:

The ADA bars discrimination against people with disabilities, but it includes a drug-use exemption that means it does not prevent employers or other institutions from discriminating against individuals based on their current drug use.
But: Within that exception is a narrower protection that makes it illegal to discriminate against people on the basis of receiving treatment or health services related to addiction.
The main point: In a preliminary ruling prior to the settlement, the judge in the case noted that syringe exchange programs are highly effective in preventing the transmission of infectious disease and argued that they constitute “health services in connection with drug rehabilitation” — essentially saying that denying access to syringe exchange would constitute a violation of the ADA.