‘largest provider of residential treatment’ –
April 16, 2025 – A federal judge has given the go-ahead for a class-action lawsuit that could radically expand Americans’ access to lifesaving addiction medications.
The perhaps surprising defendant: The Salvation Army, the Christian charity known more for its thrift stores than for its nationwide network of addiction treatment facilities.
Yet following the March 26 ruling from Leo Sorokin, a federal district court judge in Massachusetts, the nonprofit now finds itself at the center of a legal fight that could set a precedent for all Americans seeking treatment for opioid addiction using two common and effective medications, methadone and buprenorphine.
“The case has the potential to quite dramatically change the access situation for people with opioid use disorder,” said Janet Herold, an attorney with the nonprofit Justice Catalyst Law, which sued The Salvation Army on behalf of three plaintiffs who allege they were denied access to addiction treatment services because of their use of the medications.
