Families & Friends Of Addicts Support Group
Addiction affects more than just the individual. This community is dedicated to the families and friends of individuals suffering from any form of addiction. Mental health professionals are increasingly considering alcoholism and addiction as diseases that flourish in and are enabled by family systems. Family members react to the addicted person with particular behavioral...
I'm in a bit of a panic right now. My 21 year old son is in jail and he's going through methadone withdrawal. They are refusing to give him anything but Tylenol. If you do a google search, you'll find several articles about inmates that have died in jail from untreated methadone withdrawal.
My son has been getting daily methadone doses for heroin addiction for just over a year. He says it saved his life by getting him off heroin and pills. He still occasionally smokes weed and drinks alcohol. He still hasn't accepted that sobriety means absolute sobriety.
In October he was arrested for OWI and that comes with a mandatory jail sentence. The jail in our county will not give inmates methadone. The methadone clinic will taper a patient off gradually before a jail sentence, but my son chose not to do this. Instead, he applied for electronic monitoring at home. This was approved and they also approved us taking him to the clinic every morning for his methadone. The sentence was supposed to start Sunday.
On Sunday morning he stopped at the jail for his bracelet. They did a drug test and found THC in his system from smoking marijuana two weeks earlier. They said he'd have to stay in jail for another 5-7 days until he tests clean.
Now he's going through methadone withdrawal. Apparently, because he tested dirty (even though it's THC), they refuse to give him anything for his symptoms except Tylenol. If he were an inmate that came in testing clean, they'd treat his symptoms. Keep in mind that he has a legal prescription for methadone and he's taking it under a doctor's supervision.
We have a call in to the public defender and haven't heard back. If anyone has any suggestions as to how we can advocate for him, I'm open to suggestions!
I think that when all is said and done, I'm going to be advocating for changes in the jail's policy or state law. Not only is it cruel, but it's really bad public policy to take a person who is off heroin and take their medicine away, making it more likely they will relapse! Meanwhile, I'm really in a panic. i have no problem with him spending time in jail for his OWI, but I wouldn't wish cold turkey methadone withdrawal with nothing but Tylenol on anyone. I'm very concerned about the stories of people having seizures or even dying in jail from this and feel very helpless
My son has been getting daily methadone doses for heroin addiction for just over a year. He says it saved his life by getting him off heroin and pills. He still occasionally smokes weed and drinks alcohol. He still hasn't accepted that sobriety means absolute sobriety.
In October he was arrested for OWI and that comes with a mandatory jail sentence. The jail in our county will not give inmates methadone. The methadone clinic will taper a patient off gradually before a jail sentence, but my son chose not to do this. Instead, he applied for electronic monitoring at home. This was approved and they also approved us taking him to the clinic every morning for his methadone. The sentence was supposed to start Sunday.
On Sunday morning he stopped at the jail for his bracelet. They did a drug test and found THC in his system from smoking marijuana two weeks earlier. They said he'd have to stay in jail for another 5-7 days until he tests clean.
Now he's going through methadone withdrawal. Apparently, because he tested dirty (even though it's THC), they refuse to give him anything for his symptoms except Tylenol. If he were an inmate that came in testing clean, they'd treat his symptoms. Keep in mind that he has a legal prescription for methadone and he's taking it under a doctor's supervision.
We have a call in to the public defender and haven't heard back. If anyone has any suggestions as to how we can advocate for him, I'm open to suggestions!
I think that when all is said and done, I'm going to be advocating for changes in the jail's policy or state law. Not only is it cruel, but it's really bad public policy to take a person who is off heroin and take their medicine away, making it more likely they will relapse! Meanwhile, I'm really in a panic. i have no problem with him spending time in jail for his OWI, but I wouldn't wish cold turkey methadone withdrawal with nothing but Tylenol on anyone. I'm very concerned about the stories of people having seizures or even dying in jail from this and feel very helpless
deleted_user
Glad to hear he is ok. You must be so relieved...I hope his recovery continues to progress.
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