AUDIO – ADDICTION IS A PRISON –

Nov. 20, 2024 – Treatment options for opioid use disorder in Pennsylvania jails and prisons are improving, according to a new report, but barriers remain for people who are incarcerated and seeking help with addiction.About 84% of county jails now provide people with methadone or buprenorphine medications — that’s up from just 32% of jails in 2022.

The Law Project found that more jails and prisons are providing treatment to people who are already on medication when they arrive. But few jails provide “induction” or new enrollment into treatment, said Sarah Bellos, staff attorney.

“Induction” treatment is, “when they really just treat everyone who needs it. Everyone who has opioid use disorder gets medication,” said Bellos. “So, while we see this [data report] as good and we see it as an improvement, we still see a lot of problems and a lot of gaps.”

CONTINUE@WHYY