If Defendants With Substance Abuse Disorders Relapse They Can Be Sent To Jail, Court Unanimously Rules

The case was closely watched because it pitted the traditional method of punishment versus the new thinking that treatment is best for drug addiction. Justice David A. Lowy wrote that a judge has the power and discretion to determine probation requirements tailored to an individual and that further probation’s twin goals: rehabilitation and public safety. Judges, he said, “stand on the front lines of the opioid epidemic” and are “faced with difficult decisions that are especially unpalatable.”

The New York Times: Defendants On Probation Can Be Jailed For Drug Relapse, Court Rules

The top Massachusetts court unanimously ruled on Monday that a judge can require defendants with substance use disorders to remain drug-free as a condition of probation and send them to jail if they relapse. The case, which challenged a requirement routinely imposed by judges across the country, had been closely watched by prosecutors, drug courts and addiction medicine specialists. For many, it represented a debate over the nature of addiction itself. (Hoffman, 7/16)

In other news on the crisis —

The Associated Press: US Health Official Reveals Fentanyl Almost Killed His Son

The head of the nation's top public health agency says the opioid epidemic will be one of his priorities, and he revealed a personal reason for it: His son almost died from taking cocaine contaminated with the powerful painkiller fentanyl. (Stobbe, 7/16)

San Francisco Chronicle: Plan For Safe Injection Site Gets Dose Of Reality Over Federal Drug Laws

There’s a reason San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced that she is opening a model of a safe injection center in the Tenderloin: She’s been warned by the city attorney that opening a real injection site, where drug users can shoot up under supervision, could get her in hot water with the federal government. According to City Hall sources, City Attorney Dennis Herrera had confidentially advised her predecessor, former Mayor Mark Farrell, and members of the the Board of Supervisors that they could be held criminally liable under federal drug statutes if they attempted to move ahead with the injection centers — that was a red flag warning not to proceed. (Matier and Ross, 7/16)

NH Times Union: NH Reacts To Feds' Focus On Fentanyl

Hillsborough County dealers will be the target of the new effort — named Operation SOS — to levy federal charges against any person arrested for trafficking in fentanyl or other synthetic opioids, according to the top federal prosecutor in New Hampshire. On Monday, U.S. Attorney Scott Murray stressed that the amount of the synthetic opioid involved will not matter after a person is arrested for sale of the drug or possession with the intent to sell. Nor will the plea for leniency, often made by defense attorneys, that the dealer is an addict himself. (Hayward, 7/16)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Inmates To Get Hazelden Treatment For Addiction

Kenton County Jail inmates with opioid addiction are about to get a dramatic change in their treatment. They will get a first-in-the-nation, jail-based treatment program called Start Strong, partnering with the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation in a plan that includes both medication and comprehensive therapy. (DeMio, 7/16)

Roanoke Times: ‘Unfettered Greed’: Pulaski County Seeks Damages For Opioid Crisis From Big Pharma

Pulaski County has filed a lawsuit seeking retribution against nationwide opioid manufacturers and the crisis it says the companies caused. The county alleges America’s largest pharmaceutical companies, through deceitful marketing and willful neglect, have raised local public safety costs and put dangerous amounts of deadly drugs in the hands of hundreds of county residents. (Mastrangelo, 7/16)

This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.

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