UPDATE September 28, 2018: The Maine Department of Corrections has agreed to continue providing necessary medication to Zachary Smith when he is in state custody, as part of a settlement in a lawsuit filed in July by the ACLU.
The ACLU of Maine filed a lawsuit charging the Maine Department of Corrections is violating the Constitution and the Americans with Disabilities Act by denying treatment to prisoners with opioid use disorder. The ACLU filed the lawsuit on behalf of Zachary Smith of Caribou, who suffers from OUD but has been in recovery for over five years with the help of doctor-prescribed medication. When Smith reports to prison, he will be blocked from taking his medication and forced into acute withdrawal.
