Federal Prisons Were Told to Provide Addiction Medications. Instead, They Punish People Who Use Them

Date:  12-13-2022 Congress directed the Bureau of Prisons to make Suboxone and other medications widely available, but only a small fraction of those who need the help have received it

From The Marshall Project: Timothy York knows what works to treat his decades-long opioid addiction: Suboxone, a medication that effectively quiets cravings. Since York arrived in federal prison in 2008, he has been held in a series of facilities awash with contraband drugs and violence. He’s spent tens of thousands of dollars buying the medication illicitly from prison dealers because Suboxone enables him to think and communicate clearly, he said. But he hasn’t been able to get it consistently. In 2019, he was relieved to learn that the federal Bureau of Prisons was starting a program to expand access to Suboxone, and the following year, a pharmacist at the federal prison in Sumterville, Florida, said he was “priority #1” for treatment, according to his medical records. He’s still waiting. Continue reading >>>