“This bill represents an important step in the urgent effort to stem the tide of the opioid crisis that is killing hundreds of Vermonters,” Weinberger wrote in a letter to Rep. Alice Emmons, D-Springfield, chair of the House Corrections and Institutions Committee. The bill, H.468, is currently before that panel.
Advocates have long raised concerns that people in drug treatment who are sent to prison often lose access to their prescribed medications, leaving them vulnerable to relapse, recidivism and overdose upon release.
The Department of Corrections has responded that treatment medications — methadone and buprenorphine — can become currency in prison, leading to abuses. However, a report released in December found that fewer than 2 percent of inmates given extended access to treatment medication through a pilot program broke its rules.
Short-term prisoners can continue on the medication, and the pilot program, which began in 2014, allowed inmates in two northwest Vermont prisons to take treatment medication for up to 90 days before being tapered off. In the rest of the state, the limit is 30 days.
Current policy is to immediately discontinue or taper off treatment for incoming prisoners who are expected to be held for more than 30 or 90 days. That can happen even before a defendant is sentenced.
H.468 would allow prisoners who were in treatment within 90 days of being incarcerated to receive maintenance medication indefinitely while in prison — even if they test positive for an illicit substance upon intake.
It could always be tacked onto related legislation that does make the crossover deadline.
Emmons could not be reached for comment on its prospects Tuesday. Blizzard conditions scuttled testimony scheduled on H.468 and several related bills. Colburn and Corrections Commissioner Lisa Menard also could not be reached Tuesday, when most state offices closed early.
The four-page bill was introduced Feb. 24, well into the session, leaving a short window for consideration before crossover.
Another bill, H.476, calls for further study by Corrections and the Department of Mental Health on how to make “holistic treatment programming” available to prisoners with a substance abuse problem, including “continuing pre-existing prescriptions and medication treatments during an inmate’s incarceration.”
That bill, introduced by Rep. Daniel Connor, D-Fairfield, doesn’t mandate any policy changes but calls for a report to lawmakers by December.
The report released by Corrections and the Department of Health late last year, which found few inmates diverted their medication, was provided to lawmakers nearly two years after its enacting legislation required.
That report already recommends further extending how long prisoners can receive medication-assisted treatment and making it available in prisons statewide.
In his letter, Weinberger said opiate-related overdose deaths rose 38 percent from 2015 to 2016 and that opiate use is driving property crime. Providing prisoners with access to treatment medication is among 11 draft principles for fighting the opiate epidemic that Burlington is considering adopting.
“We must act with urgency on any matter that offers the hope of progress on this terrible challenge,” the mayor wrote.
Weinberger and other city and Chittenden County officials will host a public meeting Thursday at 6 p.m. at City Hall to gather further input before finalizing their list of principles for battling opiate use.
