Category: Addiction News

Employment Rights For Legal Marijuana Users Addressed In New Bill

Under the proposed legislation, federal employees living in pot-friendly states won’t be penalized for their cannabis use.

New legislation proposed in the House of Representatives would protect federal employees from getting fired for using cannabis.

The bipartisan bill—the Fairness in Federal Drug Testing Under State Laws Act—was introduced by Rep. Charlie Crist and Rep. Drew Ferguson last Thursday (July 26) and referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, according to Marijuana Moment.

The legislation would shield federal employees “whose residence is in a State where that individual’s private use of marijuana is not prohibited” from being denied employment or being “subject to any other adverse personnel action” as a result of a positive cannabis test, according to the bill’s text, obtained by Marijuana Moment.

The bill applies to employees of the federal government “across departments and agencies,” but not those involving “top secret clearance or access to a highly sensitive program.”

However, if there is “probable cause to believe that the individual is under the influence of marijuana” in the workplace, they may be terminated.

Tom Angell of Marijuana Moment notes that Rep. Crist previously proposed a measure to protect military veterans from being fired for cannabis use that is legal under state law.

However, the measure became one of nearly three dozen amendments having to do with cannabis policy that Republican leadership in the House has blocked from being voted on, as Angell reported in early July.

As more states approve cannabis for either medical or adult use, the rules around it when it comes to things like jobs or housing can get hazy.

NORML—the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws—provides a Model Workplace Policy for Cannabis on its website to help employers navigate this new territory. This guide gives a comprehensive background of cannabis and its effects.

The difficult thing about enforcing DUI laws or anti-drug policies in the workplace with cannabis is the fact that its compounds may remain in a person’s system for days or even weeks after its use.

As a result, a positive test result from a standard urinalysis test would not “provide an employer with any indication as to whether the substance may have been ingested while their employee was on the job,” the guide explains.

This complicates an employer’s ability to determine whether an employee has violated policy by using on the job.

There has yet to be a standard test for cannabis impairment, which presents a challenge for law enforcement as well.

As NPR reported last summer, “Despite the increasingly legal use of cannabis in many states, cops still don’t have the equivalent of a reliable alcohol breathalyzer or blood test—a chemically based way of estimating what the drug is doing in the brain.”

View the original article at thefix.com

31 July 2018
Animated Series Explores Science Of Addiction, Popular Misconceptions

The series’ goal is to dispel misinformation and to offer straightforward, science-based answers about addiction.

A Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization has created an animated series that attempts to explain the science behind substance dependency, as well as debunk misconceptions about the impact of drugs on the body and mind.

The Addiction Policy Forum, which partners with dependency advocates from government, mental health and pharmaceutical companies (as well as Vicky Cornell, spouse of the late Chris Cornell) to address dependency awareness and related policy, released the first episode of Addiction on July 16, and hopes to issue more on a weekly basis and host screenings across the country.

According to Addiction Policy Forum President Jessica Hulsey Nickel, the series’ core intention is “education, and making sure the real science gets into every home.”

The first episode, “The Hijacker,” debuted on July 17, 2018 and features the artwork of animator Patrick Smith, which details the impact of substance use and dependency on the brain, showing in literal terms how it drains away the importance of everyday issues, including one’s home, relationships and even the need to eat.

A second episode, “Whirlpools of Risk,” was issued on July 24 and examines the reasons why some individuals with dependency to other substances, including alcohol and tobacco, may be susceptible to substance use disorder.

In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, Nickel said that the animated series is a means of connecting with not only those struggling with dependency issues, but also their families and anyone who might seek straightforward answers to scientific questions. Nickel notes that the search for such answers may lead some to misleading and even dangerously incorrect information.

“There’s so much misinformation about this disease,” she said. “[It’s] everything from this being a choice and not a disease, the misunderstanding about how treatment works, misunderstandings about medications, about lengths of treatment and recovery support, how you develop this disease in the first place. We are surrounded and drowning in misinformation.”

The series also details the stages of dependency, another issue of which many viewers may not be aware.

“Most people don’t know that addiction has levels of severity, like stages of cancer,” noted Nickel, who lost two parents to substance use disorder. “You don’t wait for an amputation before you treat someone with diabetes. We should not be waiting for that rock bottom, the worst thing that could happen, for someone to get the treatment for addiction.”

However, efforts like these have occasionally been overshadowed by Addiction Policy Forum’s connections to the pharmaceutical industry. Nickel is a former lobbyist for Vivitrol manufacturer Alkermes, and its advisory board includes that company’s chairman and CEO, Richard Pops, as well as Stephen J. Ubl, president and CEO of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

The organization’s close connection to the industry it hopes to regulate has been cause for concern among some recovery advocates, but Nickel has addressed these issues by stating, “No one has cured a disease by making an enemy of the white lab coats. Sometimes our resistance to working with new partners is an old way of thinking.”

View the original article at thefix.com

31 July 2018
"Descendants" Star Dove Cameron Gets Candid About Anxiety, Panic Attacks

“Today I had my first full on panic attack in months. Out of nowhere, and for no reason. That’s just sometimes how anxiety goes.”

Dove Cameron, the star of the Disney Channel film series Descendants, recently took to Twitter to discuss her struggles with anxiety and to offer advice to fans who may be dealing with it as well.

“Do your best to not speak negatively of others, of life, of any given situation,” Cameron tweeted. “And especially, do your best to not speak negatively of yourself. It’s hard at first, but it gets easier. I am not perfect at it, but it does make a difference for my anxiety and my noise in my mind.”

Cameron told her Twitter followers that she “wanted to speak honestly,” and that she has been “doing phenomenally” with her anxiety.

“It’s always there, a little bit, sometimes a lot… but I have gotten more skilled at keeping it quieter, reasoning with myself, breathing… but today I had my first full-on panic attack in months. Out of nowhere, and for no reason. That’s just sometimes how anxiety goes.”

Cameron revealed that after making it through the panic attack, she wanted to share her experience.

“I wanted to tell you this so that you don’t look at me and feel hopeless because I always seem stable,” she tweeted. “I know I can present like that sometimes.”

Cameron continued, “No one is ‘perfect’ and we should not strive to be ‘cured,’ but rather, embrace highs and lows as a fact and centerpiece of being alive. ‘This moment is inevitable…’ There is help, hope, and growth for all of us. But we should never compare our paths to others, but rather, honor, embrace and accept our own path… None of us are OK 100% of the time, and that’s OK.”

A couple of years ago on Twitter, Cameron addressed the importance of speaking up about mental health issues to help break the stigma.

“So many people have anxiety/related things. It needs to be less taboo to talk about it, it helps so much to talk.”

She added that anxiety had “made me that much more disciplined in my thoughts. So it has been a blessing in disguise… It’s not about hiding it, it’s about genuinely embracing, acknowledging and managing it.”

In previous tweets, Cameron recommended the following to combat anxiety: “Time alone, self-reflection, laughter, getting in touch with my body, journaling, therapy, sleep, nature, exercise.”

Cameron also revealed that she has taken up meditation in an effort to to deal with her anxiety and she “100% recommends” it to others dealing with the mental health issue.

View the original article at thefix.com

31 July 2018
PTSD Service Dogs Are Saving Lives

“If I could pin a medal on Aura, I would,” Evans asserts. “I feel safe in my own world since I’ve had Aura. She’s life saving.”

United States Army Command Sergeant Major Gretchen Evans’ life changed forever in 2006. This was her ninth combat tour since joining the Army in 1979. It was early spring, Afghanistan, and snow still peaked the mountains, but the chill in the air was beginning to shudder into the warmth that heralded the time for going home. One instant shortly before departure would change her homecoming from routine to medically urgent. While taking enemy fire, a nearby rocket blast left Evans with a traumatic brain injury and total hearing loss. She also suffered post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Although the injuries sustained on that last tour in Afghanistan meant the end of Evans’ 27-year military career, she believes she’s had PTSD ever since her first tour to Grenada in 1983.

“You just learn to keep that stuff in control because it wasn’t okay or acceptable to exhibit PTSD symptoms while in active duty,” says Evans, who began finally treating her psychological trauma in 2008. Since accepting and addressing her PTSD diagnosis, Evans has used several different treatments including therapy, medication, and identifying her personal triggers. But one of her most helpful aids comes in the form of her faithful service dog, Aura.

Companion animals have entered the mainstream conversation in recent years as reaping a host of physical and mental health benefits for their owners. These boons include everything from lower blood pressure to decreased anxiety. Emotional support animals have gained popularity among people struggling with disorders like depression and anxiety. These animals are able to provide comfort, companionship, and a sense of purpose to some people who have shown resistance to other, more formalized treatments. Given the rising popularity of emotional support dogs and other pets, it’s important to recognize their distinction from service animals. Service dogs, which include Psychiatric Service Dogs, receive specific training related to their handler’s disability. We have probably all encountered a seeing-eye dog helping his visually impaired handler keep from walking into a busy intersection, for example. Emotional support dogs are less specialized and not covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act—which means you can’t claim discrimination if your therapy dog gets kicked out of the supermarket. The distinction may seem unfair for those who swear by their companion dog, but it does allow those with a qualifying disorder to receive highly specialized assistance. For people with PTSD, that assistance can be life changing.

The science on service dogs for PTSD is still relatively sparse. That which does exist tends to focus on the benefits for combat personnel, like Evans, which leaves little to no evidence for the use of psychiatric dogs in the treatment of PTSD related to sexual assault, natural disaster, or other forms of trauma. Nonetheless, there is strong anecdotal support of service dogs for the treatment of trauma survivors, and PTSD is now a service-dog qualifying disorder in the United States.

Evans received Aura free-of-cost through an organization called America’s Vet Dogs, which provides service dogs to disabled U.S. veterans and first responders. Organizations like these are important because Veteran’s Affairs does not currently provide service dogs for their members. Aura is technically categorized as a hearing-aid dog because Evans’ deafness is considered her primary disability, but Evans says the training Aura received for her PTSD has been life-changing after a series of false-starts when it came to her psychological recovery.

“In the beginning I tried excessive exercise…I tried meditation…I swam with the sharks, which is not really all that relaxing, and I did virtual reality…which works for a lot of veterans, but I had ten million things that happened to me, not just one trauma.” In the end, she says, a combination of medicinal, psychological, and community support helped her come to a place where her PTSD is manageable. And Aura.

One of Aura’s dominant PTSD-related tasks comes in the form of something that may sound simple to those who have never experienced a trauma nightmare: waking Evans up. This is a task echoed in the emerging literature on PTSD service dogs. The animals act by removing covers from their handler, nudging them, or even jumping onto their handler’s chest if other efforts are unsuccessful. This assistance alone is crucial, because, unlike average nightmares, PTSD-related nightmares typically replay the events or emotions of the trauma in such vivid detail that those who suffer from them may fear returning to sleep, leaving them fatigued and emotionally drained before the day has even begun.

Evans says Aura also helps her feel safe in the world. The combination of hearing loss and combat-related PTSD can leave Evans feeling vulnerable in public, especially in settings where she has to stand in line or navigate a crowd of unfamiliar people. Her service dog helps to alert her when strangers are approaching from behind, and to provide a berth that minimizes unwanted contact—all of these important for the reduction of hypervigilance, a common PTSD symptom that leaves sufferers feeling anxious, alert, and physically fatigued.

The biggest criticism emerging from the practice of using service dogs to support PTSD recovery is that dogs have a considerably shorter life span than humans, which could potentially leave an attached handler devastated by the loss. Though merely speculative at this point, this concern merits further research, especially when it comes to the care of survivors who witnessed or experienced loss of life.

Research on PTSD dogs is still young and much of the extant literature relies on self-reports. Like many aspects of trauma research, it has thus far focused mostly on combat veterans. It will likely be years before we have a large body of data confirming the experiences of combat trauma survivors like Evans, and even longer before that is applied to survivors of other types of trauma. Until then, we have the testimony of those whose lives have been changed by these animals.

“If I could pin a medal on Aura, I would,” Evans asserts. “I feel safe in my own world since I’ve had Aura. She’s life saving.”

View the original article at thefix.com

31 July 2018
The Curse of Comparison Culture

The Curse of Comparison Culture

Have you ever scrolled through Facebook or Instagram and suddenly felt that lurch in the pit of your stomach when you spot your friend or colleague or cousin looking really thin? Or maybe really happy? Maybe it feels like their kids are never crying or perhaps they are always laughing with their partner, smiling into each other’s eyes? Or maybe they are on holiday – again? Or maybe they are wearing that dress or shoes you know you could never afford. Why are they always having so much fun?

Social media has, in some ways, given us a window into one another’s lives. You can see your boss at home or on the beach. But of course, the reality is that everyone goes to town on their own window dressing. No one ever actually posts the crying baby or the tummy rolls or the screaming matches. They carefully curate a set of images to convince the world – if not themselves – life is great.

Yet even rationally knowing that, the lurch in the pit of my stomach stops me in my tracks. I quit Instagram because it just made be want to the thinner/blonder/on a beach but every now and then I find myself logging in and lurking. I get my fix of others people’s “lives” and like junk food, I devour it in the moment and then feel plagued with guilt after. Because it doesn’t make me feel good about myself. Fixating on the lives of others only serves for you to undermine your own. My reflection in the mirror simply becomes a list of negatives: I’m not that skinny; I don’t have a tan; my legs aren’t that long.

I did recently stumble across a bit of anecdote though, something that tips the balance and makes me remember what is good about my life. I’ve just came back from two weeks road tripping through Nevada and Utah. It was magical and I took lots of pictures on my iPhone. So now, instead of scrolling through other peoples’ perfect lives, every now and then I look at my own pictures, my own life and think, wow, what an adventure. After all, if we’re too busy looking at others, we might miss the amazing things that are happening around us.

View the original article at itstimetologoff.com

31 July 2018
Americans Not As Aware Of Opioid Crisis In Their Own Backyards, Study Finds

Americans are three times more likely to be informed about the opioid epidemic as a national problem rather than one in their own area.

Despite the opioid epidemic dominating headlines, a new study has found that most Americans are not aware of the extent of the epidemic in their own areas of residence.

The study, conducted by Laguna Treatment Hospital in Aliso Viejo, California, found that Americans are three times more likely to be informed about the opioid epidemic as a national problem rather than one in their own areas, The Guardian states.

The study found that a mere 13% of participants in the southern part of the country and 10% of those in the northeastern region felt that “drugs posed a crisis in their own communities.” But based on past data, states like West Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Vermont have been among the states most affected by the crisis.

Dr. Lawrence Tucker, medical director of Laguna, tells the Guardian that the results of the study were surprising due to the prevalence of the epidemic “despite regional differences.”

“You can see those differences in not just the prescriptions of opioids but the amount of heroin that is available—China White, for example, is prevalent along the east coast as is fentanyl,” he stated. “There is oxycodone in the midwest and Black Tar heroin on the west coast.”

Tucker played a large role in the recent study, called “Perceptions of Addiction.” The study surveyed 999 participants, 45% of which were male and 55% of which were female, from all parts of the country. The participants were between the ages of 18 and 76, and about 33% stated that they had dealt with substance use disorder at some point.

In 2014, a Pew Research study found that very few Americans had knowledge of the growing opioid epidemic. Tucker and others involved in the study wanted to find out if four years later, in light of the growing spotlight on the epidemic, the perceptions had changed.

“The survey’s verbiage attempted to achieve admittance of, versus just awareness of, addiction across the United States,” Taylor Bloom, the survey’s project manager, told the Guardian. “We would ask questions using the word ‘perceive’ instead of ‘aware.’ For example: ‘Do you perceive an addiction crisis in your community?’”

According to the Guardian, Bloom and other researchers did discover some improvements when compared to the 2014 study.

“We saw increased awareness among Hispanic and African American demographics,” said Bloom. “But then we saw that Americans are 79% less likely to perceive an addiction crisis in their communities today as they were four years ago… which is kind of crazy.”

According to Tucker, race plays a large part in awareness.

“Some races, particularly white young adults, are being hit harder than others,” he told the Guardian. “Which is why the neighborhoods that are affected the most are certainly aware of the epidemic, because they have lost loved ones and friends. But the communities that aren’t really aware of the opioid epidemic is because it’s just not affecting them as much due to the racial makeup of their neighborhoods.”

View the original article at thefix.com

31 July 2018
"Teen Mom OG" Star Ryan Edwards Arrested For Alleged Drug Possession

The arrest comes at a tumultuous time for Edwards who just announced that he quit Teen Mom OG over a network dispute.

Reality television star Ryan Edwards was arrested on July 23 on what appeared to be charges of drug possession.

Edwards, who recently announced that he and his spouse, Mackenzie Edwards, were leaving MTV’s Teen Mom OG series, was arrested and booked in Hamilton County, Tennessee on what was described by the county sheriff’s office as “previous charges or other reasons,” but listed in its inmate system as possession of a controlled substance.

Edwards, who on a 2017 episode of the series appeared to fall asleep at the wheel of a moving vehicle while allegedly under the influence of Xanax, was previously arrested in March of 2018 for violating probation related to 2017 charges for heroin possession.

According to E! News, no bond was set and Edwards is due in court on August 6.

Radar Online reported that the July 23 arrest was prompted by a petition to revoke for violation of the 2017 charge. He allegedly missed a May 21, 2018 court date, for which a warrant was issued for his arrest. Edwards is alleged to have resisted arrest when officers arrived for him on July 23.

The arrest comes at a tumultuous time for Edwards, who announced just three days prior to the arrest that he quit Teen Mom OG over the network’s alleged decision to write him and Mackenzie Edwards out of the series.

Mackenzie—who announced in March 2018 that she and Edwards were expecting their first child—told E! News on July 20 that MTV allegedly “told us they don’t want to show Ryan as a recovering addict.”

Edwards also alleged that his ex-girlfriend, Maci Bookout, with whom he has a nine-year-old son, refused to participate in filming for the series unless he left Teen Mom and returned to rehab.

“Maci can’t speak to Ryan and Ryan can’t speak to Maci—that was a mutual decision,” said Mackenzie. “But she doesn’t know what’s going on in our lives.” Edwards had previously sought treatment in May of 2017 after the heroin possession charge that year.

The March 2018 arrest for probation violation, which took place at Edwards’ home, also came shortly before Bookout filed for two orders of protection against Edwards, one for her current husband, Taylor McKinney, and the other for Bookout and her three children.

As Us Weekly noted, court documents show that Bookout alleged receiving threatening voicemails from Edwards, who also reportedly appeared at their son’s baseball game while under the influence of heroin and threatened to harm her. A judge granted both orders.

View the original article at thefix.com

30 July 2018
Maryland Hit With Record Number Of Fentanyl Deaths

“It’s terrifying that we’re at a point where the numbers escalate every year. We don’t even know where the peak is,” said Baltimore’s health commissioner.

Maryland hit a sobering new milestone last year: The state saw more fentanyl deaths than ever before. And this year, it turns out, is already on track to set another disquieting record.

Of the state’s more than 2,200 intoxication deaths last year, roughly 90% were opioid-related and more than 1,500 involved fentanyl, according to health department data.

“It’s terrifying that we’re at a point where the numbers escalate every year. We don’t even know where the peak is,” Dr. Leana Wen, Baltimore’s health commissioner, told the Associated Press.

But that’s not true across the board. While fentanyl fatalities soared from 1,119 in 2016 to 1,594 last year in a more than 40% jump, heroin deaths are down 11% in the same period.

Prescription opioid fatalities are down a bit too, though cocaine deaths have jumped up some 49%. Most of that is likely due to the increasing appearance of fentanyl mixed in with coke, state officials said, according to the Washington Post.

Overall, the “large majority” of the fentanyl deaths occurred in Baltimore, the notoriously drug-riddled Charm City. There, 573 people died of fentanyl overdoses. Four years earlier, the city saw just 12 such fatalities. “That’s a 5,000% increase in four years,” Wen said.

The new data comes just over a year after Gov. Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency in light of the ongoing opioid epidemic.

“We need to treat this crisis the exact same way we treat any other state emergency,” he said in a press conference at the time, while announcing an influx of roughly $50 million in funding to combat the problem. “As this crisis evolves, so must our response to it.”

The crisis in Maryland mirrors struggles playing out in states across the country as overdose deaths are driven up by the prevalence of dangerously strong synthetic opioids like fentanyl and the even stronger carfentanil.

So far, the problem doesn’t seem poised to improve in 2018. The first three months of the year notched up 653 accidental drug deaths in the state—and 500 of them involved fentanyl, state data showed.

View the original article at thefix.com

30 July 2018
Jeff Sessions: DOJ Won't Back Down On Marijuana Laws

“States have a right to set their own laws and will do so, and we will follow the federal law,” Sessions said.

At a Boston press conference about a federal sting operation that busted about two dozen people on immigration fraud, reporters went a bit off topic and asked U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions about individual states’ rights to create and enforce their own marijuana laws.

Sessions was clear in his anti-marijuana stance, affirming that under his purview the Department of Justice will follow federal marijuana laws. “States have a right to set their own laws and will do so, and we will follow the federal law,” Sessions responded to the question.

Earlier this year, Sessions wrote a memo that reversed a decision by the Obama-era Department of Justice to be more hands-off when it comes to states that have legalized marijuana. “The previous issuance of guidance undermines the rule of law and the ability of our local, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement partners to carry out this mission,” he wrote.

The question at the Boston press conference was pertinent because two years ago, the state of Massachusetts legalized marijuana, but as of now still has not set up systems for its retail sale and purchase in the state. If Sessions goes after Massachusetts dispensaries, it would be disastrous for such a budding industry.

“The American republic will not be better if there are marijuana sales on every street corner,” Sessions expanded on his answer.

The sentiment was reflective of a statement the attorney general made during a 2016 Senate hearing: “Good people don’t smoke marijuana.”

Despite the threats he’s made about marijuana, Massachusetts cannabis regulators are not worried. They’re confident even after they start retailing marijuana in their state, that the federal government will not intrude.

Steve Hoffman, the chairperson of the Cannabis Control Commision, believes that a recent statement from one of Sessions’ federal attorneys, Andrew Lelling, seems to suggest that federal policy still resembles the previous hands-off policy.

Federal focus around marijuana enforcement, according to Lelling, is focused on three things: making sure marijuana isn’t being passed to illegal markets, making sure it isn’t being distributed to minors, and cracking down on criminals seeking to transport marijuana across state lines.

Hoffman is confident that the measures Massachusetts is putting in place will address these three priorities and thus the state will not draw Sessions’ ire.

View the original article at thefix.com

30 July 2018
Man Sues Prison For Addiction Medication Access

The 30-year-old at the center of the suit started using painkillers as a teen and was prescribed Suboxone five years ago.

Last week, the ACLU sued Maine’s prisons and one county jail over their continued refusal to give addiction medication to inmates.

Zachary Smith, who is scheduled to go to prison in September, filed a federal lawsuit targeting the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office and Maine Department of Corrections, claiming violations of the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment and also of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“Denying needed medication to people with opioid use disorders serves absolutely no good purpose, and actually undermines the important goal of keeping people off of opiates,” ACLU of Maine legal director Zachary Heiden said in a statement. “Going to prison shouldn’t be an automatic death sentence, but that is the chance we take when we cut prisoners off from adequate medical care.”

Failure to provide medication can lead to painful forced withdrawal and increase the risk of overdose.

The 30-year-old at the center of the suit started using painkillers as a teen and was prescribed Suboxone five years ago. “If I did not get on buprenorphine I’d probably be dead,” he told the Bangor Daily News.

He was denied access to his medication last year during a short stint in the county jail. So, once he knew he had prison time in his future—a nine-month sentence for domestic assault—Smith and the ACLU wrote a letter to the state’s correctional system requesting that he continue to receive his medication behind bars.

When they got no response, they filed suit.

Although medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is considered the standard of care on the outside, many county jails and state prisons refuse to provide it. In Maine, according to the Bangor paper, only Knox County Jail provides Suboxone, though the Penobscot County Jail offers another alternative, the injectable treatment Vivitrol.

Prison officials declined to comment.

“If we’re being sued, I can’t speak about that,” Maine Department of Corrections Commissioner Joseph Fitzpatrick told the Press Herald. “Once they’ve filed, I’m not able to comment.”

Though the legal action could be ground-breaking for Maine prisoners, it’s not the first of its kind. In June, the ACLU of Washington launched a class-action suit against a jail there for denying inmates access to methadone and Suboxone as part of a policy the organization called “harmful, unwise and illegal.”

“The ADA prohibits singling out a group of people because of their disability and denying them access to medical services to which they would otherwise be entitled,” the organization wrote at the time. “The Whatcom County Jail has a policy of denying people with (opioid use disorder) the medication they need while providing necessary medication to everyone else, which is discrimination.”

Two months earlier, advocates in Massachusetts publicly pondered a lawsuit there, even as federal prosecutors announced an investigation into whether failure to provide addiction medications is a violation of the ADA.

View the original article at thefix.com

30 July 2018