Legislation Could Expand Medical Addiction Treatment For Mass. Inmates

The Massachusetts Senate Ways and Means Committee is endorsing legislation that would expand medical treatment for prisoners with substance use disorders.

A House bill would develop a two-year pilot for medically-assisted addiction treatment in prisons and sheriff-run correctional facilities. The Senate version would mandate that treatment for all inmates.

Middlesex Sheriff Peter Koutoujian, who has been running a pilot program offering such treatments to inmates in his district, joined Morning Edition to talk about the legislation.