HEALTH & JUSTICE IN THE NEWS
Date: May 31, 2016
Around the Nation
Long-Acting Opioid Treatment Could Be Available In A Month
NPR, 5/27/16
Labels for the first long-acting opioid addiction treatment device are rolling off printing machines Friday. Trainings begin Saturday for doctors who want to learn to insert four matchstick-size rods under the skin. They contain the drug buprenorphine, which staves off opioid cravings. The implant, called Probuphine, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday, and is expected to be available to patients by the end of June.
Treating Pain in the Midst of an Opioid Epidemic
The Huffington Post | Healthline, 5/26/16
While they can help mitigate serious pain, chronic and widespread misuse of opioids has created a severe drug epidemic. Opioid drug overdoses quadrupled over 15 years, with 16,000 people dying in 2013, according to the latest estimates from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As the United States copes with these cases of severe addiction, the medical community is taking a closer look at prescribing practices, pain management training, pill mills, and how pain is treated.
Around Illinois
'Dying for the High': The Heroin Epidemic
Fox32, 5/23/16
Heroin takes nearly two lives every day around Chicago. It can be cheaper and easier to get than tobacco or alcohol. Over the last five months, FOX 32's Elizabeth Matthews immersed herself in what is now an epidemic and says that the drug does not discriminate. Last year alone, more than 608 people died of heroin-related deaths in Chicago and surrounding counties. In 2015, Cook County saw at least 424 deaths. In the collar counties in 2015, the state lost someone every two days from a heroin overdose. Public overdoses are playing out all around us: in a car, in front of a New Lenox restaurant, on a bike trail in Geneva, and near a gas station in Lake County. DuPage County coroner Richard Jorgensen says they've found heroin in every town. "My kids told me that they could get heroin any time they wanted to," said Jorgensen. "There were corn fields here when I was a kid, there's heroin here now."
Chicago's heroin crisis; old problem, new approach
WGN, 5/19/16
Caught with a small amount of heroin for the first time? You have a choice: Face charges or enter treatment. Chicago Police just launched the Narcotics Arrest Diversion program for people who do not have violent criminal records and are not in gangs. Law enforcement agencies across the country are making similar changes to address what The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has labeled a "heroin epidemic." "We've had a significant heroin problem in Chicago for many decades," said Kathie Kane-Willis, director of the Illinois Consortium on Drug Policy at Roosevelt University. "Until it moved to the suburbs, I don't think anyone was really willing to address it or care." In this WGN-TV Cover Story, Gaynor Hall takes a look at the new approach to an old problem.
College in Danville Prison
WAND17, 5/30/16
Individuals incarcerated at Danville's prison now have the option to take college courses. The University of Illinois' college in prison program offers courses like math, writing, science, education, business and history. Participants are able to transfer credits earned to four-year schools, after they are released.
Holy Cross Hospital's mental health unit aims for alternative to ERs, jails
Chicago Tribune, 5/31/16
"The key was to get the patient out of an emergency room environment and into a therapeutic environment as soon as possible," said David Martucci, a registered nurse who manages the new unit at Holy Cross. "An ER is designed to save lives. It's not really meant to provide those kinds of therapeutic experiences our patients require." The hospital plans to collaborate with the Cook County sheriff's office and Chicago Police Department so officers can also bring individuals with nonviolent offenses who need urgent mental health treatment to their crisis stabilization unit, instead of putting them in jail. Advocates say they support efforts to provide immediate, targeted treatment for people in psychiatric crisis but maintain that such services paper over chasms in behavioral health care nationwide.
DePaul research helps people in recovery return to communities
The DePaulia, 5/30/16
Today there are nearly 2,000 Oxford Houses around the country. The purpose of the houses is to ensure people have the tools and support systems to overcome substance use disorders and addiction. DePaul professor Leonard Jason and his team of students in the community psychology program do research on the Oxford Houses and their effectiveness. Old policies, ones that enforce mandatory minimums and don't allow for progress or inhibit the ability of people to get jobs should be addressed and rectified, said Jason.
Research, Reports, and Studies
New Reports Examine Money Bail
Pretrial Justice Institute, 5/25/16
Three research reports released earlier this month add substantially to what we know about the effects of money bail. A Columbia Law and Economics Working Paper describes how assigning money bail to people accused of crime in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh increases the likelihood of conviction by 12% and increases recidivism by 4%. The authors found that the use of money bail is not effective-it "does not seem to increase the probability that a defendant appears at trial," and actually makes us all less safe. A University of Pennsylvania Law School Working Paper reported that people arrested for crimes in Philadelphia and detained due to their inability to pay money bail face up to a 30% increase in convictions-driven by increased guilty pleas-and an additional 18 months of incarceration compared to those who are able to afford bail, at a taxpayer cost of about $14,000 per person. Finally, the Prison Policy Initiative (PPI) released an analysis of national data showing that "most of the people who are unable to meet bail fall into the poorest third of society." According to the report, "the median bail bond amount in this country represents eight months of income for the typical detained defendant."
Pharmacist prescribes education as key to curbing opioid abuse
ScienceDaily, 5/27/16
Technologies that make it harder for people to misuse opioids -- like doctoring pills so that they produce unpleasant side effects if broken, crushed or injected -- likely will have limited effectiveness in stemming the global epidemic of opioid abuse, according to Adam Kaye, a professor of pharmacy at University of the Pacific. Writing in the latest issue of the journal Current Pain and Headache Reports, Kaye and his co-authors argue that such technologies are no substitute for education. "Education is the foremost strategy," Kaye said. "We must educate primary care providers, surgeons, pharmacists and other health professionals, as well as patients. That education must take place prior to the starting point of opioid therapy.
Youth
House, Senate Take Different Paths on Proposed Juvenile Justice Funding
Juvenile Justice Information Exchange, 5/26/16
Reformers are dismayed by a proposed House spending bill that would eliminate funding for several major juvenile justice programs next year. The House bill is in sharp contrast to corresponding Senate legislation, which would increase juvenile justice spending slightly compared with current levels. It remains to be seen if the House and Senate will reach a final spending plan under regular order, which would call for a compromise between the two bills, or if a larger deal will be reached later in the year.
Opinions, Editorials, and Commentary
Tom Dart: To End Mass Incarceration, Think Local
The Wall Street Journal, 5/30/16
Legislators in both parties are trying to end the era of mass incarceration [through federal sentencing reform]. These moves are sorely needed and long overdue. Unfortunately, they're also a distraction from the reality that mass incarceration can only be truly addressed at the state and local level. Federal lockups hold a mere 9% of [those incarcerated in America]. More than 90% of [incarcerated individuals] are being held in county jails or are serving sentences in state prisons.
Margaret Goff: African American girls and the school-to-prison pipeline - Who are our sisters' keepers?
Urban Wire | Urban Institute, 5/25/16
One in three African American men will be incarcerated in his lifetime, but what about African American girls? Though women compose only about 7 percent of the national jail and prison population, they are the fastest-growing segment of the prison population. Despite this reality, little conversation surrounding the school-to-prison pipeline focuses on girls. It's true that African American boys are more likely than any other student group to face school-based arrest, suspension, and expulsion, but the disparities in school discipline between African American girls and their white counterparts are far greater. One in four girls born in the United States will experience some kind of sexual victimization before she turns 18, leading to trauma and health-compromising outcomes such as mental health issues and physical pain. Many of these girls become involved in the juvenile justice system-and it starts in school. The My Brother's Keeper Task Force is an "effort to address persistent opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color." But what are we doing to help girls? The road to prison is gendered, necessitating comprehensive and targeted programming to address the unique needs and challenges facing African American girls.
John E. Wetzel: Pennsylvania Dept. of Corrections to discard terms 'offender,' 'felon' in describing formerly incarcerated
The Washington Post, 5/25/16
Refraining from referring to those who have committed a crime as offenders, I do not excuse their behavior or minimize the impact they've had on those they've offended, nor do I disrespect victims, by respecting those who have victimized. Rather, I acknowledge the humanity of incarcerated individuals despite their damaging behavior, and, as importantly, acknowledge their capacity to change. After all, we, all of us, are invested in the future success of those who have committed crimes. We call our system the "corrections system," and surely respect for humanity is an essential element of that.
Health & Justice in the News
is a summary of recent news stories relating to criminal justice, mental health, addiction, recovery, and related issues. It is compiled and published by TASC each Monday and Thursday.
Some headlines and text have been altered by TASC for clarity or emphasis, or to minimize discriminatory or stigmatizing language. Opinions in the articles and op-eds do not necessarily express the views of TASC or our staff or partners.
