These Meds Prevent Overdoses. Few Federal Prisoners Are Getting Them
The Marshall Project, August 10, 2021: These Meds Prevent Overdoses. Few Federal Prisoners Are Getting Them
“In 2018, Congress passed the First Step Act, a wide-ranging prison reform legislation that, among other things, required the federal prison system to expand access to medications for people addicted to opioids. Amid a historic spike in overdoses, both inside prisons and jails and in the country at large, the idea was to save lives: These medications reduce drug use and protect against overdose, and the weeks just after release are a particularly vulnerable time for formerly incarcerated people. The Act came with tens of millions of dollars for implementation. Yet bureaucratic inertia and outdated thinking about addiction treatment means the federal program is still serving only a tiny fraction of those eligible, The Marshall Project has learned.”
Additional reading:
The New York Times, August 8, 2021: In the Opioid Epidemic, More Reasons for Hope Than Despair
The Washington Times, June 28, 2021: Building off the First Step Act
American Bar Association, March 23, 2021: ABA Criminal Justice Section releases report on First Step Act implementation
