Shifting Tides: District of Massachusetts Orders Correctional Facility to Provide Opioid Treatment
by Arlan Fuller
Case Focus
In Pesce v. Coppinger, Civ. A. No. 18-cv-11972-DJC (D. Mass. Nov. 26, 2018), the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts ordered that, under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and the Eighth Amendment, a Massachusetts jail was required to provide an inmate, Geoffrey Pesce, prescribed methadone treatment during his incarceration. This decision will have a significant impact on the provision of medical treatment for opioid use disorder in prisons. While other jurisdictions have provided methadone treatment to incarcerated populations, Massachusetts generally has not. Further, the case is the first time a federal judge in Massachusetts has ordered that treatment must be provided.
I. The Question of Opioid Treatment in Prison
In the midst of the nation’s opioid epidemic, there is a debate as to whether to allow medical treatment for opioid use disorder in jails and prisons. Medical treatment is usually methadone, buprenorphine or another prescribed drug that reacts with the same receptors in the brain as drugs like heroin or oxycodone but does not produce a “high” if taken as directed. Studies show that about half of prisoners entering the jail system meet the criteria of substance use disorder and of that group, nearly half have a diagnosed opioid use disorder. Most jails and prisons, however, prohibit even prescribed use of methadone and buprenorphine on the grounds that the drugs present safety and security concerns.
Without treatment, however, relapses may occur, often resulting in disability or premature death. In the case of opioid use disorder, a very present danger exists in the immediate post-release period when treatment has been interrupted during incarceration. A 2007 New England Journal of Medicine study found incarcerated patients to be 129 times more likely than the general population to die of an overdose in their first two weeks following their release. But, even though the data identifies a need to consider methadone or buprenorphine treatment in prison, institutions, particularly in Massachusetts, have been slow to adopt policies allowing for such treatment. Although the Commonwealth has recently announced pilot programs for medical treatment in both jails and prisons, based on legislation passed last year, those programs have yet to begin.
II. The Pesce Decision
Given the significant numbers of prisoners with opioid use disorders, it is no surprise that courts would eventually be faced with questions regarding the availability of treatments. In July 2018, Pesce was charged with driving with a revoked or suspended license in violation of the terms of his probation. Pesce had struggled with opioid use disorder for several years. He was in active recovery since 2016 and receiving methadone treatment. It was agreed that any sentence resulting from the charges would be served in the Essex County House of Corrections. However, that facility did not provide methadone treatment to inmates. To obtain medically necessary treatment, and avoid the risk of overdose and death upon his release, Pesce requested that he be allowed to continue methadone treatment while in jail. When Pesce did not receive a response, he sought an injunction ordering that his treatment continue while he was incarcerated.
Pesce argued that the jail’s policy of denying access to methadone treatment violated his rights under the ADA. The ADA states that “no qualified individual with a disability shall, by reason of such disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied benefits of the services, programs, or activities of a public entity, or be subjected to discrimination by any such entity.” Pesce asserted that the refusal to administer methadone deprived him of the benefit of health care programs, and that such conduct constituted discrimination on the basis of his disability.
Pesce also argued that the jail’s policy against methadone treatment constituted cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment. The jail’s policy did not permit the treatment, regardless of his doctor’s and other medical professionals’ opinions regarding the treatment of patients who, like Pesce, struggle with recovery without methadone treatment.
Pesce demonstrated that he would suffer irreparable harm. Before starting methadone, Pesce had overdosed three times in less than 24 hours. His doctor described him as at “high risk of overdose and death upon his release” without continued methadone treatment. Statistics provided to the court also showed the dangers in not treating incarcerated individuals with opioid use disorder, including the 2007 New England Journal of Medicine study that found that nearly 50 percent of all deaths among those released from jail or prison were opioid related, with most occurring within a month of release.
The court determined that the medical needs of Pesce outweighed any harms and security concerns of the jail. The court recognized that the prison has a legitimate concern for the safety and security of its inmates. However, in Pesce’s case, methadone would be administered in the presence of prison officials and, because it is in a liquid form, would be extremely difficult to smuggle into the prison. Therefore, the court deemed the medical benefits to Pesce were greater than the risk posed to the prison. Lastly, the Court held that the public interest would be better served by ensuring that Pesce received proper medical care while in prison.
III. The Impact of the Decision
This decision will have significant and far-reaching impact. It is the first time a federal judge in Massachusetts has ruled in favor of providing methadone access in prison. Prisons in Massachusetts will need to provide access to methadone and buprenorphine treatment or likely face similar legal actions. Adding to the debate, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit recently affirmed a preliminary injunction ordering a jail in Maine to provide buprenorphine to treat an opioid use disorder. Smith v. Aroostook Cnty., 922 F.3d 41 (1st Cir. 2019). In Smith, as in Pesce, the court found the plaintiff would likely prevail on a claim that withholding treatment violates the ADA and Eighth Amendment. With these decisions, Massachusetts will now face even more pressure to successfully implement the upcoming pilot programs providing opioid maintenance therapy. Similar programs have been successful, such as in New York City, which in 2018 treated 900 prisoners daily with methadone and nearly 4,000 prisoners over the entire year. In fact, 74% of all prisoners with an opioid use disorder were maintained on methadone or buprenorphine during their incarceration.
More broadly, Massachusetts (and elsewhere) will need to determine whether treatment for opioid use disorder for those incarcerated should be considered a discretionary therapy that can be denied, resulting in forced withdrawal and inevitable relapse upon release, or a vital and necessary health service that is protected under by law. In the last issue of the Boston Bar Journal, former Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley and Rachel Hutchinson stated that “as the opioid epidemic grows, the way we view addiction is changing.” The Federal Court’s decision confirms this trend, showing that the corrections system offers an opportunity to engage individuals who might not have strong connections to the health system. Indeed, instead of posing a threat to those struggling with substance use disorder, the corrections system could prove to be a critical point of intervention to address an individual’s health needs. Pesce may be the first case to address medical treatment of opioid use disorders in Massachusetts, but it is unlikely to be the last.
Arlan Fuller, MA, JD, is the executive director of the François-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University and a research associate at the Harvard School of Public Health. His central areas of focus are in human rights law, international development, and US government and legislative strategy. Mr. Fuller received his BA in economics from the College of the Holy Cross. He holds a master’s degree in peace and conflict studies from the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland, and a JD from Boston College Law School.