The Evolving Medicolegal Precedent for Medications for Opioid Use Disorder in U.S. Jails and Prisons

Takeo Toyoshima; Dale E McNiel; Ariel Schonfeld; Renée Binder

doi:10.29158/JAAPL.200127-20

The Evolving Medicolegal Precedent for Medications for Opioid Use Disorder in U.S. Jails and Prisons

J Am Acad Psychiatry Law. 2021 Dec;49(4):545-552. doi: 10.29158/JAAPL.200127-20. Epub 2021 Aug 2.

Authors

Takeo Toyoshima¹, Dale E McNiel², Ariel Schonfeld², Renée Binder²

Affiliations

¹ Dr. Toyoshima is Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA. Dr. McNiel is Professor of Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA. Dr. Schonfeld is in private practice in forensic and clinical psychiatry, San Francisco, CA. Dr. Binder is Professor of Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA. takeo.toyoshima@ucsf.edu.
² Dr. Toyoshima is Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA. Dr. McNiel is Professor of Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA. Dr. Schonfeld is in private practice in forensic and clinical psychiatry, San Francisco, CA. Dr. Binder is Professor of Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.

PMID: 34341145
DOI: 10.29158/JAAPL.200127-20

Abstract

Medications for opioid use disorder, also known as medication-assisted treatment (MAT), are critical in the treatment of opioid use disorder. Historically, inmates with opioid use disorder in U.S. jails and prisons have had difficulty accessing these medications, particularly methadone and buprenorphine. A series of recent legal cases, however, have set an evolving precedent for prisoners' rights to medications for opioid use disorder during incarceration based on the Eighth Amendment and the Americans with Disabilities Act. In addition to reviewing these cases, this article evaluates the recent clinical and research landscape in which these cases arose and highlights the need for further study into the role of medications in reducing in-prison morbidity and mortality from opioid use disorder.

Keywords: addiction; correctional psychiatry; jail; medication assisted treatment; opioid use disorder; prison.

MeSH terms

Buprenorphine* / therapeutic use
Humans
Jails
Opiate Substitution Treatment
Opioid-Related Disorders* / drug therapy
Prisoners*
Prisons
United States

Substances

Buprenorphine