The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan (ACLU) and law firm Goodwin filed a federal lawsuit against Grand Traverse County Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of 20-year-old Traverse City resident Cyrus Patson, alleges that the Grand Traverse County Jail's practice of denying medication to people who are incarcerated and suffer from opioid use disorder violates the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Eighth Amendment. 

Patson, who is currently receiving the medication Suboxone for opioid use disorder, is facing a charge in 13th Circuit Court of tampering with an electronic monitoring device. He expects to be sentenced to jail at a November 12 sentencing hearing. According to the ACLU, "if jail administrators continue their policy and practice of refusing to provide prescription Suboxone to people incarcerated in the facility for more than a few days, Mr. Patson will face serious medical consequences and grave risks to his health. Studies have shown that ending (opioid use disorder) treatment prematurely triggers painful withdrawal symptoms that markedly increase the risk of relapse, overdose, and even death. Indeed, Mr. Patson suffered severe and disabling withdrawal symptoms himself during a prior period of detention at the same jail in which he was denied medication for opioid use disorder."

"My entire treatment plan is saving my life – it's helping me live on my own, and hold onto hope for my future," Patson said in a statement. "My opioid use disorder does not define me, but it is a lifelong battle that I am fighting successfully with the help of the medication my doctor has prescribed, along with regular counseling.”  

Medication for opioid use disorder has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is "widely regarded as the standard of care for this illness," according to the ACLU. "Abruptly stopping medically necessary treatment is cruel, discriminatory, and potentially deadly,” says Syeda Davidson, ACLU of Michigan senior staff attorney. "Incarceration does not take away a person’s right to continue doctor-prescribed, life-saving treatment. This applies to people who have opioid use disorder just as it does for people who have any other disability or medical condition. Jail officials have a legal duty to care for and uphold the rights of every single person in their custody. Mr. Patson is no different and should have appropriate access to his medically necessary treatment."  
 
According to studies cited in the lawsuit, from 1999 to 2018 the number of Michiganders who died from opioid overdoses rose from 118 to 2,036 people. Opioid overdoses are the leading cause of death for Americans under 50 years old.

"Providing access to medication for the treatment of opioid use disorder to those who are incarcerated is not only feasible, it’s a human right," says Alexandra Valenti, partner at Goodwin. "We implore the officials of Grand Traverse County to uphold their legal responsibilities and provide Mr. Patson with his physician-prescribed, life-saving medication while he is incarcerated."