Suboxone Therapy Becomes Increasingly Critical & Available

Dr. Nikesh Seth is part of the growing number of informed clinicians who understand the need and importance of Suboxone Therapy. This “partial agonist” opioid has proven to be highly effective in an overall opioid therapy program and can help those who are looking for a safer pain management solution or for decreasing their opioid dependency. Slowly but surely, information about Suboxone Therapy is starting to spread around the country and has even made its way into inmate treatment programs.

Laws vary state to state when it comes to addiction treatment for inmates, and in Maine, the debate is heating up. After a jail in a rural part of the state refused to give an inmate her opioid addiction medication, the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston intervened. The inmate rightly claimed that withholding her addiction treatment medication meant a high chance of serious (and potentially fatal) withdrawal symptoms. Now, the Court of Appeals has ruled that the jail must provide inmates with their opioid addiction treatments.

In 2017, Brenda Smith was sentenced to 40 days in jail for stealing $40 worth of Wal-Mart products. Prior to sentencing, she had been prescribed two daily doses of an opioid addiction medication for five years. According to Smith and her doctor, the prescription worked for her. Smith had also been on Suboxone Therapy for an additional five years. However, when the jail refused to give her the medication, she claimed it put her recovery status in jeopardy. The jail staff said the medications could be used as “contraband.”

Smith’s successful case was the first at the federal appeals court level to address an inmate’s right to opioid addiction treatment while in jail. It’s a big step towards addressing the opioid crisis at multiple levels. Although the ruling isn’t at a national level, it does set the precedence for jails across the country and ties into the Americans with Disabilities Act, which makes discrimination based on a medical disability illegal.

Schedule Your Consultation with Integrated Pain Consultants Today!

Suboxone Therapy is one of the most effective means of both treating opioid addiction and being part of a holistic pain management treatment plan. If you’d like to know more about opioid alternatives or getting help with dependency with Suboxone Therapy, schedule a consultation with Integrated Pain Consultants today.