Recent significant legal developments may convince jails and prisons throughout the nation to meaningfully address the opioid and fentanyl epidemic that pervades correctional centers and society in general. A preliminary injunction was granted by a federal district court judge in Massachusetts requiring a county jail to administer methadone to a person entering the institution with opioid use disorder (OUD). Across the nation, a federal district court judge in Oregon approved a multi-million dollar settlement of a wrongful death claim brought by the family of a woman who died in custody without being administered medication or any other treatment for opioid withdrawal.
Medication Assisted Treatment for OUD
OUD is an epidemic that claims the lives of 115 Americans, on average, each day. See Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Opioid Overdose: Understanding the Epidemic. In 2017, more than 70,000 Americans died from overdoses. The statistics reporting the number of people who have died from overdoses on Long Island and throughout the state of New York are grim. The incidence of deaths from opioid overdose are higher in New York than the nationwide rate. See National Institute on Drug Abuse: New York Opioid Summary (February 2018). Two of the highest rates in the state are found in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. See New York State Department of Health, Opioid Annual Report (October 2017).
