No matter which way you look at the drug issue in the country, one thing is clear, drug overdoses are at an all-time high. Statistics show 130 people on average die every day from an overdose of opioids.[1] Currently, Maryland ranks within the top five states “with the highest rates of opioid-related overdose deaths at double the national average.”[2]

With the rise in opioid use, as of October 2019 Maryland has implemented a new law which will require correctional facilities to assess individual inmates in a screening process to determine whether an inmate is suffering from an opioid addiction; and if so what the best method of treatment and rehabilitation will be for that specific individual.[3] Correctional facilities will have medications available as well as providing withdrawal management services to inmates who are diagnosed with opioid use disorder.[4]

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, close to half of state and federal inmates suffer from some variation of opioid use disorder.[5] With that being said, it should not come as a surprise, drug use in prison is extremely common; however, there are hardly any statistics to show the actual drug use by inmates. A 2017 report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics similarly found that nearly 75% of people in state prison and serving sentences in jail regularly used drugs.[6] Once an inmate is released, their risk of death is “ is more than 12 times that of other individuals, with the leading cause of death being a fatal overdose.”[7] Specifically in Maryland, “people recently released from detention are 8 to 10 times more likely to die from overdose than the general population.”[8]

The World Health Organization has made their position on this issue very clear stating inmates should be able to acquire adequate healthcare while in prison to help with their opioid withdrawal.[9] By implementing this law, Maryland joins states like Colorado, Kentucky and Pennsylvania who have already had success with substance use disorder laws within the correctional facilities.[10] The ultimate goal of this law is to save lives and begin to decrease the opioid overdose trend.[11] Allowing inmates to have this option of treatment will create great strides with inmate rehabilitation and will provide support during the process of withdrawal – something a majority of inmates might have never had before.

Jessica Rubin is a third-year law student at University of Baltimore and will graduate in May 2020. Jessica got her bachelor’s degree in criminology and psychology from Florida State University. During her time at University of Baltimore, Jessica was a student attorney with the Mental Health Clinic where she represented patients in involuntary civil commitment hearings at the Sheppard Pratt psychiatric hospital. Jessica currently works as a criminal defense law clerk at Bates & Garcia LLC in Baltimore City.

[1] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Opioid Basics, CDC, Dec. 19, 2018 https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/epidemic/index.html.

[2] https://www.baltimoresun.com/opinion/op-ed/bs-ed-op-0314-mat-prison-20190313-story.html

[3] Md. Corr. Serv. § 9-603 (West 2019).

[4] Id.

[5] https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/medications-to-treat-opioid-addiction/how-opioid-use-disorder-treated-in-criminal-justice-system

[6] https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/dudaspji0709.pdf

[7] https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/medications-to-treat-opioid-addiction/how-opioid-use-disorder-treated-in-criminal-justice-system

[8] https://www.baltimoresun.com/opinion/op-ed/bs-ed-op-0314-mat-prison-20190313-story.html

[9] World Health Organization. Guidelines for the Psychosocially Assisted Pharmacological Treatment of Opioid Dependence. World Health Organization; 2009. http://www.who.int/substance_abuse/publications/opioid_dependence_guidelines.pdf. Accessed November 22, 2019.

[10] https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2019/05/13/how-states-address-opioid-use-disorder-in-prisons

[11] https://www.baltimoresun.com/opinion/op-ed/bs-ed-op-0314-mat-prison-20190313-story.html