Judge Jodi Thomas presides over HART, which stands for "Helping Achieve Recovery Together." It’s an opioid-specific program, and one of two drug recovery court dockets in Franklin County, which includes Columbus.
Donald Hutson is one of more than 430 inmates who have overdosed in state prisons since May 2017, according to internal data from the Missouri Department of Corrections. While there are many ways drugs are smuggled into prisons, DOC employees say internal corruption is a key part of the problem.
The area around Columbus Ohio has been hit hard by the opioid epidemic, and judges say courtrooms are jammed with misdemeanor cases that are tied to addiction. Now they hope a treatment clinic in an unlikely location will be part of the solution.
A new center for substance abuse treatment is slated to open in Champaign this December. The Center for Recovery, located at 2302 Moreland Blvd., will be operated by Rosecrance, a mental health and substance abuse treatment system with facilities across the state.
In this week's Legal Issues in the News the University of Illinois College of Law's Verity Winship takes a look at opiate litigation.
