EDITORIAL: Coppinger's opioid treatment program a strong model

Thank you to the Eagle-Tribune, Daily News of Newburyport, and Gloucester Times for recognizing our Medication Assisted Treatment program as a "strong model" in the battle against the opioid epidemic.

Five years ago, the Essex County Sheriff's Department was court-ordered to provide methadone to an inmate who was receiving this treatment in the community before coming into our custody.

We embraced the decision.

Today, we have our own nationally-recognized and licensed medication assisted treatment clinic within our facility. We offer several different types of medication assisted treatment to over 180 people daily. Since that court decision 2,967 individuals have received medication from our program.

We also make certain those in our program leaving our facilities continue to receive this treatment in the community, as well as other programs to support their recovery.

The editors wrote, "Let us give credit where credit is due. Not only did Coppinger follow the judge’s order, he helped lead a push for treatment that has made the Middleton Jail and others like it in Massachusetts a national example of how to meet one of the most stubborn challenges of the opioid epidemic – treating people in challenging environments."

Here is how the Editorial appeared on March 29, 2024

Our View: Coppinger's opioid treatment program a strong model

It wasn’t so long ago that the state’s sheriffs – including Essex County Sheriff Kevin Coppinger – resisted the idea of providing treatment for inmates suffering from drug addiction within the walls of the county jails.

It wasn’t until 2018, for example, that the Middleton Jail, which Coppinger runs, began providing regular methadone treatment for inmates with an addiction to opiates. That move came only after an order from a U.S. District Court judge, who correctly ruled that the administration of methadone is a medical treatment.

At the time, Coppinger said bringing the drug into the jail was too dangerous.

“In a prison setting, administering these drugs raises many security, logistical and fiscal concerns that are not issues for individuals who are not incarcerated,” Coppinger said in a statement after the 2018 ruling. “Many individuals who arrive at our facility also test positive for other illicit drugs including fentanyl, amphetamines, benzodiazepines, cocaine, ecstasy, methamphetamines and heroin, among others. Clearly this is a complicated issue.”

But let us give credit where credit is due. Not only did Coppinger follow the judge’s order, he helped lead a push for treatment that has made the Middleton Jail and others like it in Massachusetts a national example of how to meet one of the most stubborn challenges of the opioid epidemic – treating people in challenging environments.

The Essex County Sheriff’s Office has put much of the $2.7 million in federal and state program grants it received last year into medication-assisted treatment and other substance abuse programs, according to a new report.

“It’s never enough money,” Coppinger told Statehouse reporter Christian M. Wade earlier this week. “But I think it’s working based on feedback I’ve received from former inmates, and the community.”

Treating substance abuse while people are incarcerated, he said, helps inmates reintegrate to society and reduces recidivism.

“When people get released we don’t want them to end up back in the criminal justice system,” he said. “We want to get them out of here and keep them on the straight and narrow.”

Coppinger estimates that two thirds of the jail’s inmates are dealing with substance abuse issues. About 170 are on medication-assisted treatment in Middleton and at other locations.

Coppinger didn’t drag his feet after the judge’s 2018. Instead, the Sheriff’s Office went in the opposite direction. It was one of the first in the state with an in-house detox center, and is building a dispensary for methadone and other treatments at its pre-release center in Lawrence. That spot – also known as the “Farm” – will be able to dispense treatments there instead of transporting inmates to an off-site facility.

“Because we have a license, we can do this now, which is going to help us substantially,” he said. “Security-wise, it’s a no-brainer. We can dispense it in-house now.”

It’s an important tool that helps ensure that those suffering from addiction don’t miss treatment and leave themselves vulnerable to relapse, just as they are re-entering society. And it’s clear every effort is needed to stem the tide of opioid overdoses, which killed 2,357 people in Massachusetts last year – an increase of 2.5% from 2022, according to public health data.

Fortunately, Coppinger and many of the other state’s sheriffs have the ability to adapt with the times.