San Antonio’s Response to Homelessness Is Broken. It’s Time to Put Housing First Shelters are not meeting people’s needs, and the city is clearing encampments, says City Councilmember Roberto Treviño. Roberto Treviño
Criminal Justice Reform Should Decriminalize Addiction, Advocates Say Efforts to address the harms of police violence and incarceration must consider the drug war, activists and treatment professionals note, including the punitive models of treatment. Elizabeth Brico
Life Sentence For Missouri Woman Convicted Of Assaulting Police Officer Is ‘Extremely Distressing,’ Justice Advocate Says Nicole Poston was sentenced in July for punching a police officer after she slipped free from a handcuff. Life sentences, even for nonhomicide offenses like Poston’s, are ‘a major factor’ in mass incarceration in the U.S., a criminal justice expert said. Lauren Gill
In Pennsylvania, Overdose Deaths Were Falling. Then COVID-19 Hit. Advocates say the pandemic has exacerbated the overdose crisis in the state by forcing people into isolation and impeding access to treatment. Joshua Vaughn
People In Crisis Need Social Workers, Not Cops Social Workers address crises regularly and without an armed police officer standing in front of us. Often, the presence of an armed officer escalates a crisis that could have been better handled by mental health professionals alone. Vivianne Guevara, Nakia Winfield
Fatal Overdose Deaths Soar In Communities Across The Country Amid COVID-19 Pandemic In Cook County, Illinois, suspected or confirmed fatal overdose deaths doubled over last year in the first five months of this year. Elizabeth Brico
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
‘I Feel Trapped’: Treating Drug Use in the COVID-19 Pandemic Social distancing orders are a necessity, but they create a host of new problems for people in treatment for substance use disorders. Alice Markham-Cantor
The Appeal Podcast: The Cruel Rise of ‘Drug Induced Homicide’ Prosecutions With special guest host Leo Beletsky, a professor of Law and Health Sciences at Northeastern University, and criminal justice reform advocate Morgan Godvin.
How Child Services Punishes Mothers With Substance Use Disorder—And Their Children Rather than separating families, child ‘welfare’ agencies should help families get access to the care they need. Elizabeth Brico
A California Sheriff And Prosecutor Want To Jail Homeless People. Their Plan Is Unlawful. Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood and District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer intend to openly defy a 1975 state Supreme Court precedent that says law enforcement cannot intentionally discriminate against a person or group of people. Kate Chatfield
South Dakota Leads Nation on Jail Admissions, New Report Finds Nearly half of all arrests in the state are drug or alcohol related, compared to just 29 percent nationally. Raven Rakia, Ethan Corey
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
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
