— A Massachusetts jail’s policy of denying inmates access to opioid addiction medication violates constitutional rights and the Americans with Disabilities Act, according a lawsuit filed in federal court this week by the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts. In a lawsuit filed Wednesday, the civil rights organization asked a judge to require the Essex County House of Correction in Middleton to provide methadone to Geoffrey Pesce. Otherwise, it says, he will go though painful opioid withdrawal while incarcerated and face a higher risk of overdosing upon release. The lawsuit comes as jails and prisons across the country are starting to provide addiction medications to inmates, as resistance from long skeptical corrections officials appears to be loosening amid the national drug epidemic. Massachusetts lawmakers this year created a pilot program at six county jails where inmates will be provided opioid addiction medications starting next September.

Source: National Post September 20, 2018 18:45 UTC