Austin Uses Money From Police Budget to Fund Substance Use Care 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. Meg O'Connor
Arizona Man Faces 8 Years in Prison For Not Returning Rental Car on Time Brian Stepter, 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. Meg O'Connor
Methadone Rules Requiring In-Person Visits Are Putting Patients At Risk Of Coronavirus For many people across the U.S. who need methadone treatment, sheltering in place during the coronavirus outbreak is impossible. Elizabeth Brico
Parole Violations Nearly Sentenced These People To COVID-19 Twenty-eight people were to attend weeks-long drug treatment programs after violating parole. The COVID-19 pandemic nearly trapped them in jail indefinitely. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
This D.A. Election Could Bring a Big Change in How Austin, Texas Treats Drug Addiction 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. Kira Lerner
Pennsylvania’s Top Cop Says He Supports Criminal Justice Reform. His Record Suggests Otherwise. When it comes to criminal justice, advocates say, Attorney General Josh Shapiro seems intent on maintaining the status quo. Joshua Vaughn
Drug Treatment Is Reaching More Prisons and Jails Recent legal victories have spurred counties and states to provide medication-assisted treatment to prisoners struggling with substance use. JB Nicholas
The Appeal Podcast: The Media’s Misguided Fentanyl Hype With Appeal contributor Maia Szalavitz Adam H. Johnson
Overdose In An Arizona Prison? Get Ready To Pay Up. ‘Worst policy imaginable’ punishes, rather than treats, patients who earn less than a dollar an hour, advocates say. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
