Initiative Aims to Increase Methadone, Bupe Access in Pennsylvania Jails
Jerome Maynor was prescribed methadone. His medication was working for him and he was stably employed. Suddenly, parole infraction got him thrown back in jail and refused him access to his medication. What followed—forced withdrawal—was agony for Maynor.
11 May 2021Jerome Maynor, 71-year-old Black man with opioid use disorder (OUD), was prescribed methadone. His medication was working for him and he was stably employed. Suddenly, parole infraction got him thrown back in jail. Allegheny County Jail refused him access to his medication. What followed—forced withdrawal—was agony for Maynor.
Now, an initiative by the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project and global health organization Vital Strategies aims to help people like Maynor who are incarcerated across Pennsylvania to access their medications.
“We’re in a moment of extreme urgency,” Kate Boulton, senior legal technical advisor at Vital Strategies, told Filter. “The magnitude of this [overdose] crisis is unprecedented. Medication needs to be available to everyone—including those who are incarcerated.”
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