Drug Addiction in Prison
It’s not uncommon to find prison marriage whose sole purpose is drug smuggling. Actual emotion may or may not be involved but it’s for this reason that visitors to any maximum security facility will undergo a serious search before they will be admitted onto the grounds. This is not something you want to mess around with. Get caught with anything that they wouldn’t allow a prisoner to have and you’ll find yourself smacked down with charges yourself.
Case in point: an Australian woman recently got caught trying to smuggle drugs into a Brisbane prison… in her baby’s diaper. Know what they think the drug was? Subutex! She was smuggling a treatment for drug addiction into a prison and ended up catching a case herself.
Subutex and Its Uses
To be fair, it is possible to abuse Subutex and the 20-year-old woman may very well have been bringing it to the 22-year-old prisoner with the intent to sell it to those who would crush it and shoot it, take it himself or help him (or someone else) ward off opiate withdrawal symptoms. A huge percentage of prisoners are strung out when they get sent away and those first few weeks are a veritable hell on earth. A few Subutex tablets could really ease the pain, at least for a few days, longer if they were smart about it.
Unfortunately, the lady in question was found to have a “drug utensil” in one of her children’s backpacks and “green leafy material” in Ziploc-style bag, so the chances that she was a good Samaritan trying to buck the system and do a good deed isn’t likely. And the fact that her kids were used to this… it doesn’t look good.
Drug Smuggling Into Prison is Far From Rare
But she’s not alone. In fact, she’s the second person this month to be charged with attempted drug smuggling in this prison alone. Consider how many weren’t caught. And multiply the ones who were by the thousands of institutions in our country alone, people who will soon be adding to the prison population. The drug situation in prison has got to change.
Methadone Maintenance in Jail
Baltimore may have come up with a way to fight this problem. It is estimated that about 12,000 heroin addicts are processed through Baltimore’s jails each year with hundreds more who are on methadone maintenance when they come through booking. Usually, there is no love for those on methadone in jail. But Maryland is looking to provide methadone in the jail systems (not prison) while people are awaiting trial or bail.
It’s already happening in California. If you get picked up, you can use the phone in the holding tank to call your methadone clinic if you know the number or have someone contact them for you. Your methadone dose may not arrive on time, but it will eventually arrive. But if you get shipped off to prison because the jails are too full, you waive too much time in court or for any other number of reasons, you’re out of luck.
Suboxone Treatment in Prison?
So here’s the question: what about Suboxone in prisons and in jail? Would it work? If you are on more than 30 milligrams of methadone, it wouldn’t be much help, but if you could wean yourself down to that dose while you’re still in the jail system…. What do you think?
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August 30th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
I think that BOTH meds should be utilized in both jail and prison. In fact, people have died from cold turkey methadone withdrawal–there was a case a few years back where two women in their early 40’s died a year or so apart in an Orlando, Florida jail from methadone withdrawal, and I lost my baby at 18 weeks of pregnancy in a jail where my legally prescribed medication was withheld from me despite my pregnancy, causing my baby’s death and nearly causing my own. Methadone withdrawals last much longer than ordinary opiate withdrawals, meaning that the dehydration, vomiting, diarrhea, elevated blood pressure, etc go on for weeks instead of days, greatly increasing the possibility of serious consequences. In a jail situation, the patient is unable to seek care for themselves and unlikely to be closely observed, treated for symptoms, etc. The possibility of death or serious outcomes due to stroke, cardiac arrest, electrolyte imbalances, etc is much greater in this type of environment.
Studies show that those inmates who ARE provided with medication assisted treatment while incarcerated and are referred to treatment upon release do much better than those who are forcibly detoxed.
September 3rd, 2008 at 10:36 am
What about those of us that have serious health problems, myself I have a fungal menengitis that is incurable and left me with acute and terrible daily pain in the head, some Dr’s give me injections in the head of terrible amphotericin B injections just to stay alive. I am the last to survive of the group that pick up this stuff from the 94 Northridge earthquake. But, I went through many drugs for pain that ended up not working until a Doc put me on methadone. I have been on 30mg for 8 years and the dose has not had to go up and it works but beause of all the idiots abusing this drug that is supposed to help them I am under a microspcope and even if I lose a single pill I need to have a police report filed. If that happens more than once then I will be dismissed as a patient. and what happens if we get hiy by a hurricane and all the pharmacies are blown away? My 76 year old Mother is also on methadone to ease the pain of serious back problems. We don’t abuse these drugs but sure do worry about being addicted and having to go through withdrawls if something unforseen happens.
September 8th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
I have been in this situation before where I have been arrested and didnt expect to do a long sentence. I was sentenced to 4 years without notice. I was in jail and wasnt released on bond. So as a 120mg Methadone user daily I was in real trouble to say the least.
I was in New Orleans Parish Prison where they really could care less about you or your health. It was HELL for 8 days straight without eating,sweating,flipping like a fish in bed at night,all of the detox symptoms. They did give me something, this was funny!
Tylenol tablets and Immodium! Thats it! Someone needs to start some type of petition to send to congress before someone else dies or loses a baby like the other post. I would have loved a chance to take Suboxone or anything to help me that works other than the medicines that dont work like Tylenol and Immodium. They are great medicines just not for the treatment of detox from Methadone or Herion! Someone please help those poor people who are going through this now without help. Someone in jail is going through this right now! Write congress or tell someone important!
Thanks,
ExCon
September 24th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
i’ve not been in jail, but have gone to court and actually have panic attacks whe i think that i could be in a situation where i could not get medication- i have started into withdrawals on several occasions and it is 100% nicer to say that i wished i was dead- i had only gone as far as two days into it and thank God, i was able to get narcotics into my system to ease the violent symptoms- i am on 160 mg of oxycontin and 180 mg of roxicodone per day- i used to be on 125mcgh of fentanyl patch and 40 mg of percocet per day ,but the fantanyl patches would come off and i found myself (those times i mentioned) short of medication and facing withdrawal- additionally, fentanyl made my memory non-existent- i couldn’t remember things that happened a 1/2 hr. previously- i take medication b/c i have a genetic disorder that causes my joints to subluxate, causing great pain, and i have fibromyalgia as well- even considering the pain that i would go back to before i was relieved by the narcotics, i am strongly thinking about detoxing gradually just so that i can be rid of the panic attacks re. withdrawal possibility and actual occational symptoms- i agree with you folks- being convicted of a crime doesn’t mean you’re a bad person or that you deserve to experience excruciating pain… no one has the right to decide that another person deserves ill treatment or neglect- people make mistakes and most of those serving sentences are merely “paying” their debt to society and those they’ve wronged… soon enough, they will be the person next to you in line at the walmart or at the table beside yours at the chinese buffett- point being that everyone deserves medical attention and basic human decency… if i knew who to write to, i’d let them know how desperate this situation is, from the perspective of one who’s lived it-
October 22nd, 2008 at 12:37 pm
i have been in jail and it is no fun to detox that way and no one cares if u die r not but if they would detox u in jail if u was on suboxone before u got there that would be great and if u was not onit when u went in they should test u first to see if u r on pain pills r heroin and if u r they should detox u because i think that 90 percent of people r in jail due to drug use what kills me is that most people thinks jail helps us but in all reality it makes us worse because u r so sick that u got to get something when u get out so just maybe if they did do this detox we would need nothing when we got out think
October 24th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
I need a lawyer that will get justice for a man who went to jail, the sentence was 2-22 days and died because they wouldn’t give him his methadone
October 26th, 2008 at 9:01 am
Sheri, please come to one of these websites–maybe we can help you with this. This has happened before. Two women died in Orlando Florida a few years ago from being denied methadone in jail, a few months apart from each other. Their families sued and were awarded 5 million dollars. This is an absolute abomination that is happening to people and must not be allowed to go on. Please come to these sites:
http://www.readybb.com/watchdog/viewforum.php?f=2
http://www.methadonesupport.org
http://www.readybb.com/nama_wespeakmethadone/viewforum.php?f=2&sid=86EDA2454F6D5211A06C7D58D0D0D037
November 15th, 2008 at 11:50 am
I think they should have medathdone and surboxne in prison and jail. there would be less drug smuggling and maybe more people would stay off using herion when they get out. Im a recovering heroin addict myself and im just about to start serboxne and im scared… why does it have too be soooo hard?? WHat kind of withdrawl systems should i be expected?!
November 17th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
Zenith, I am still crying after reading that you took the time to reply. Is there anywhere i can find the names of these attorneys?
I just got off the watchdog one and am overwhelmed with all of the info!
Vernon fought alcohol and heroin, he beat heroin with the help of methadone. After being alcohol free he slipped, had a drink, before he could get into an accident or be lucky and get home without an accident he was stopped by the police. The outcome he was sentenced to 2-22 days in jail. His doctor wrote a letter to the court that he is in the end stage of liver failure, to take him off methadone would kill him as his system is too weak.They had his girlfriend bring his methadone to the jail. They detoxed him anyways, never using his methadone. He was found on the jail floor taken to the hospital on a stretcher and died just like his doctor said would happen.
This was a NICE man, he constantly tried. He came in to the office and made payment on his bill, the last few hundred my boss had a letter sent to him, balance zero, hardship write-off. In the two and half years I’ve worked there I’d never seen this happen. This is how special Vernon was to us. He remembered and cared about people. His life was certainly better than the ones that took it from him.The court didn’t have to put him in jail, it served no purpose, he was no longer any danger to society, too weak to drive. The jail had methadone to give him, they were warned his body couldn’ttake withdrawal. The jail only had to keep him 2 days, they could see he needed hospitalization, they tried to keep him the full 22, knowing this would kill him. They chose to kill. They CHOSE to kill him. Shouldn’t they be held accountable? Now the attorneys are saying…well he may have had as few as 4 months left to live anyways. He went into court on his own power, came out on a stretcher, to die in the hospital (4 months minimum) too early. If you have only months to years left, isn’t every day even more precious to you, your family, loved ones and friends?
This is a horrible thing that was done to this dear man. Wicked and evil. A deliberate kill. People are given the lethel injection for deliberate kills. These animals never even had enough remorse to send a sympathy card or pay for the funeral. This couldn’t be the only methadone denial death, can’t all the attorneys working on this get together and get somewhere on this?
Thank you for taking the time to read this.Sherrilyn Kempton Please reply to me I need an attorney to help with this injustice, and leads at all?
Love to all who want justice.
November 17th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
Sheri, I do think I can find the name of this law firm for you, but any law firm that deals with wrongful death can take this on–and this IS wrongful death, bigtime.
What I want you to do is to join over at the Watchdog site you visited, (and the other ones too, if you want) and post just exactly what you just posted here. That way you can get the advice of quite a few VERY knowledgeable people, not just me. We currently work very hard on preventing this issue. If you should have any problem registering, just post here and let me know about it. I am a moderator at all these sites (admin at We Speak Methadone) and can help you with that.
Bless your heart–and Vernons. Your story made me cry. What a horrible horrible shame.
Love,
Z
November 17th, 2008 at 10:57 pm
Also–what state are you in?
November 18th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Sherri–please contact the ACLU in your area…or any foundation that fights for the rights of the disabled. You or this mans loved ones need to make sure the jailers that put him in this situation PAY for what they did. PLEASE google ENGLAND OPIATE ADDICTS SUE JAIL. This was a suit against the jail for cruel and unusual punishment. My clinic, CAP QAULITY CARE in Maine is fighting to make sure all the jails in the state AT LEAST offer a HUMANE withdrawal.
Doesn’t the fact that there are people that would rather DIE than go through withdrawal tell what pure torture it is? How can we allow this to go on in our jails TO OUR FELLOW AMERICANS who have usually done nothing more than had the audacity to be SICK with addiction?–and we cry outrage out countries that allow torture to prisoners of war? How can we say that allowing someone to go through this much agony, (when there are meds that can END suffering)is acceptable? If we don’t fight against this sort of treatment of our fellow human beings, we have only our selves to blame for the results!
Sheri–thank you for seeing the humaness of this man and looking beyond the label “addict” to see the human being within. We aren’t evil or weak, we are just people who need help and compassion.