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CDCR’s Medication Assisted Treatment Program for Substance Abusers is a Resounding Success
by Matt Clarke
Between 2016 and 2019, fatal drug overdoses more than doubled for California state prisoners. The state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) said that hospitalizations for drug overdoses rose almost as fast. Clearly, a new approach was needed to stem prisoner drug use.
That …
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More from this issue:
- ‘Plainly Grossly Inadequate’: Federal Court Finds Arizona Prison Healthcare Deliberately Indifferent to Prisoners’ Risk of Serious Harm, by Matthew Clarke
- Settlement Extended Again After Federal Judge Faults California Prisons for Using Snitches in Solitary and Parole Procedures, by Jacob Barrett
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Oregon Supreme Court Holds Corizon Health and Other Jail Contractors Liable Under State Disability Rights Laws, by Mark Wilson
- Colorado Prisoner Targeted by Gangs Wins Injunction for Placement in Protective Custody, by David Reutter
- Eighth Circuit Strands Missouri Prisoners Sentenced to Life Without Parole as Juveniles in ‘Opaque’ Review Process, by Douglas Ankney
- Cages in the Coalfields, by Judah Schept
- Eleventh Circuit Says No PLRA ‘Strike’ for Dismissal of Case Removed From State to Federal Court, by David Reutter
- Federal Judge Says Alaska DOC Policy Rejecting Prisoner Mail Without Notice Violates Due Process, by Mark Wilson
- Eighth Circuit Says Judge Dismissing Claim of Federal Prisoner in Arkansas Was Premature in Counting It a PLRA ‘Strike’, by Matthew Clarke
- North Carolina Prisoners Languish Without Air Conditioning, by Kevin Bliss
- Ninth Circuit Tells Nevada DOC: ‘Wait and See’ Prisoner Medical Care Can’t Become ‘Deny and Delay’, by David Reutter
- $2.57 Million Settlement for Hogtying Death in NC Police Custody, by Eike Blohm, MD
- Class Certified in ‘Orange Crush’ Shakedown Lawsuit by Illinois Prisoners, by David Reutter
- Fourteen Officials Indicted in New Jersey Women’s Prison Abuse Scandal, $21 Million Class-Action Settlement Reached, by Ashleigh Dye
- Pennsylvania County Retakes Control of Jail From GEO Group, by Keith Sanders
- Prisoners Awarded Damages for Denial of Public Records by Ohio Prison Officials, by David Reutter
- Tenth Circuit Revives Suit Against Colorado Jail Guard in Death of Mentally Disabled Detainee, by David Reutter
- California Pays $3.5 Million to Settle Suit Over State Prisoner’s Murder, by Ashleigh Dye
- LGBTQ Adults and Youth Face Criminalization and Over-Incarceration, by Jacob Barrett
- Former South Carolina Deputy Gets 18 Years for Driving Transport Van With Two Detainees Into Flood, Drowning Them, by Ashleigh Dye
- Excess Prisoner-Made Hand Sanitizer Costing N.Y. Taxpayers Millions to Dispose Of, by David Reutter
- $54,000 Award for Georgia Prisoner in Failure-To-Protect Lawsuit, by David Reutter
- After Sixth Circuit Stops Attempted End-Run Around Rules, Former Kentucky Jail Detainee Settles Suit Against Southern Health Partners, by Kevin Bliss
- CDCR’s Medication Assisted Treatment Program for Substance Abusers is a Resounding Success, by Matthew Clarke
- Former Deputy Warden Gets Two Years for Assaulting Mississippi Prisoner, by Kevin Bliss
- New Policy Banning Care Packages Makes Life Harder for N.Y. Prisoners, by Jayson Hawkins
- South Carolina Death Row Doctor Breaks Silence About Years of Executions, by Ashleigh Dye
- New York City Jails Admit Illegally Recording Over 2,200 Attorney-Client Phone Calls, by Anthony Accurso
- Texas Commission on Jail Standards Finds Unacceptable Conditions in Nueces County Jail, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- Disgraced Virginia Sheriff Gets 12 Years for Bribery and Corruption, by Ashleigh Dye
- Texas Prisoner Killed After Wounding Guard in Escape and Killing Family While on the Run, by Matthew Clarke
- Ninth Circuit Denies Qualified Immunity to Doctor and Nurses at California Jail Who Treated Detainee’s Ruptured Aorta With Pepto Bismol, by David Reutter
- Idaho Lowers Cloak of Darkness Over Execution Protocols, by Douglas Ankney
- ‘Good Time’ Credit Policy Wrongly Under Attack in Alabama, by Jo Ellen Nott
- ACH Settles After Federal Jury Awards $8.5 Million in Suit Over Missouri Detainee’s Death, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- Nevada Supreme Court: DOC Owes Parolee Credit for Any Days Over 60 Awaiting Revocation in Prison, by Matthew Clarke
- Ninth Circuit: Prisoner Filing a New Grievance That Makes New Claims Does Not Render Previous Grievance ‘Unexhausted’, by David Reutter
- $3.7 Million in Attorney Fees Paid to Settle COVID-19 Class-Action at Orange County Jail, by Jacob Barrett
- Federal Jury Awards $30,501 to Indiana Prisoner in Retaliation Lawsuit, by David Reutter
- Federal Government Pays $300,000 for Endangering Diabetic Prisoner With ‘Dramatically’ Subpar Care, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- Arkansas Supreme Court Rules Felony Enhancements Subject to Parole Eligibility Statute in Place at Time of Crime, by Jacob Barrett
- COVID-19 Stimulus Garnished From Federal Prisoner, but Only After Eighth Circuit Says ‘Not So Fast’, by David Reutter
- Ninth Circuit: New Suit Not Required After Curing Failure to Exhaust Administrative Remedies, by David Reutter
- Third Guilty Plea Entered in Massive Aryan Brotherhood Drug Conspiracy in California Prisons, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Settlement Reached in COVID-19 Class Action Against DC Jail, by Kevin Bliss, Jayson Hawkins
- News in Brief
More from Matthew Clarke:
- CoreCivic’s Long Record of Abuse and Neglect in Tennessee, June 1, 2026
- Dallas County Jail Deaths, Many Preventable, Dramatically Increase Under Sheriff Marian Brown, June 1, 2026
- Ninth Circuit Lets Stand Ruling That Federal Prisoners’ Gradually Accumulated Savings Are Subject to Restitution Turnover, June 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Reinstates Illinois Prisoner’s Lawsuit Against Prison Dental Staff, June 1, 2026
- Nebraska Lifts Suspension of Native American Religious Practices Hours Prior to Federal Court Hearing, June 1, 2026
- Florida Federal Court Excoriates BOP for Health Care Failures, Grants Prisoner Early Release to Seek Treatment for Possible Breast Cancer, June 1, 2026
- Eighth Circuit Dismisses Federal Prisoner’s Challenge to BOP Denying His Request for Expedited Transfer to Prerelease Custody, June 1, 2026
- Federal Court Partially Enjoins Enforcement of Georgia’s S.B. 185 Prohibiting Gender-Affirming Health Care in DOC, June 1, 2026
- Federal Jury Awards $2,500 to Male Wisconsin Prisoner Sexually Assaulted by Female Guard, June 1, 2026
- Federal Court Grants HRDC Preliminary Injunction Against Mail Censorship at New Mexico Jail, May 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- New York City Reaches Settlements Totaling Nearly $5.2 Million with Estates of Two Fatal Methadone Overdose Victims Detained on Rikers Island, June 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Drug Overdose, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Deliberate Indifference.
- Washington State Supreme Court Ruling Supports Broad Immunity in Overdose Cases, June 1, 2026. Drug Overdose, Failure to Protect (General), Defenses, Immunity/Liability, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death).
- “Like the Walking Dead”: Smuggled Drugs Fuel Chaos Inside Ohio Prisons, May 1, 2026. Contractor Misconduct, Guard Misconduct, Drug Overdose, Security Systems, Drugs - Determination of.
- Faced with Record-Breaking Jail Deaths, L.A. County Supervisors Tell Sheriff’s Department to Improve Access to Naloxone, Camera Monitoring, and Security Checks at California Jail, May 1, 2026. Drug Overdose, Overcrowding, Sanitation, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).
- Negligence, Lack of Training at Ohio’s Cuyahoga County Jail Led to String of Deaths, May 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Drug Overdose, Jail Specific, Failure to Train/Supervise, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.
- Texas State Jails Fail: Institutions Conceived as Safe Spots for Rehabilitation After Minor Drug Convictions Now Flooded With Drugs and Major Felons, March 1, 2026. Drug Overdose, Staffing, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Good Time, Drug Treatment/Rehab.
- Number of Narcan Doses Raises Drug Concerns at New Jersey Prisons, March 1, 2026. Drug Overdose, Mail Regulations, Drug Treatment/Rehab, Administrative Detention/Segregation.
- Los Angeles County Restricts Opioid Treatment, Feb. 1, 2026. Medication, Systemic Medical Neglect, Failure to Treat, Drug Overdose, Drug Treatment/Rehab.
- $450,000 Paid for Michigan Jail Detainee’s Fentanyl Death, Incarcerated Husband Prevails in Claim for Part of Payout, Feb. 1, 2026. Drug Overdose, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Deliberate Indifference.
- Fingerprints as New Drug-Detection Method, May 15, 2025. Drug Testing/Treatment Programs, Fingerprint Evidence, Drug Laws/Offenses.

