drug treatment

The city will use $1 million in funds diverted from its police budget to expand substance use treatments and harm reduction services for low-income people in Austin and Travis County.

B.S., a 61-year-old with chronic respiratory problems, has struggled with substance use for decades. Police and prosecutors sought the harshest sentence possible after he failed to return the car.

For many people across the U.S. who need methadone treatment, sheltering in place during the coronavirus outbreak is impossible.

Twenty-eight people were to attend weeks-long drug treatment programs after violating parole. The COVID-19 pandemic nearly trapped them in jail indefinitely.

In Travis County, thousands of people continue to be prosecuted for low-level drug possession charges that reform-minded district attorneys elsewhere have committed to dropping.

When it comes to criminal justice, advocates say, Attorney General Josh Shapiro seems intent on maintaining the status quo.

Recent legal victories have spurred counties and states to provide medication-assisted treatment to prisoners struggling with substance use.

With Appeal contributor Maia Szalavitz

‘Worst policy imaginable’ punishes, rather than treats, patients who earn less than a dollar an hour, advocates say.