Launched as a joint effort of the University of Maryland Carey School of Law, the Maryland Department of Health (MDH), and the Office of the Attorney General of Maryland, the Legal Resource Center for Public Health Policy (LRC) was established in 2001. Housed at the School of Law, the LRC is led by Executive Director and Professor Kathi Hoke. Funded by MDH, the LRC provides invaluable technical legal and policy assistance to MDH and local health departments, the Maryland General Assembly and local legislative bodies, advocacy and community-based organizations, researchers, and individuals seeking to improve public health in Maryland. With additional public and private funding, the LRC provides technical legal assistance to state and local public health officials and legislators, federal agencies, national organizations, and others across the country. Together these funding streams allow the LRC to focus on critical issues in the regulation of tobacco, cannabis, gambling, school health, and injury prevention. The LRC also has extensive expertise in legal epidemiology, helping researchers, policymakers, and advocates identify and demonstrate the ways that law can (and does) serve as both a cause and a powerful solution to most public health problems.
