Amid an overdose crisis of historic proportions, we have medications that can cut overdose deaths by up to 60%—more than half!—among folks released from prison. But they are sorely underutilized. themarshallproject.org/2021/08/10/the…
Risk of OD death is sky-high among those just released from prison. Reduced access to opioids behind bars → reduced tolerance and increased cravings. Enter methadone and buprenorphine (aka Suboxone), which maintain tolerance and eliminate cravings. themarshallproject.org/2021/08/10/the…
State prison systems are increasingly providing the meds. Still <1/2, but way more than a few years back, when you could count the # of states on one hand. The bureau of prisons, which incarcerates ~200k people in prisons across the country, should be leading the way. It isn't.
As of July, the BOP had only 268 people on these meds: less than 2% of the >15,000 people the bureau itself estimated were eligible. In the last 2 years, they've treated about the same # of people as Maine's DOC, which incarcerates 1% as many people. themarshallproject.org/2021/08/10/the…
In 2018, the First Step Act required the BOP to expand access to these medications. The DOJ (BOP's parent agency) has been going around *threatening to sue* prisons and jails for not providing them. And yet the BOP's rollout has been...lackluster at best. themarshallproject.org/2019/01/29/whe…
It's all about stigma, Michael Botticelli, Obama's former 'drug czar,' told me: “If this were not addiction treatment, would we buy the argument that it’s just a big bureaucracy?” themarshallproject.org/2021/08/10/the…
It's also about prisons and jails not wanting to admit the extent to which drugs get in, Botticelli told me. "There’s a level of denial in many correctional facilities that drug use is rampant," he said. But dead bodies don't lie—& they're piling up. themarshallproject.org/2021/07/15/ins…
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This woman died in jail detoxing from a drug her physician prescribed her. She was trying to do the right thing and take care of herself after a relapse. postandcourier.com/news/she-died-…
Like most jails, the Charleston jail at the time did not provide suboxone (or, it seems, basic medical care for people in withdrawal). themarshallproject.org/2019/01/29/whe…
Most withdrawal deaths in jail, the person is coming off of heroin or somesuch. This is clearly never OK—withdrawal deaths are entirely preventable with basic medical care like hydration—but clearly the jail is not going to provide heroin. motherjones.com/politics/2017/…