P.G. v. Jefferson County et al

The New York Civil Liberties Union and the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Prison Project sued Jefferson County over its discriminatory and life-endangering policy of denying prescribed medication to people with opioid use disorder in the Jefferson County Jail.

The lawsuit names plaintiff P.G., a New York resident who currently faces imminent detention at the Jefferson County Jail. There, jail officials will end his life-sustaining treatment under a ban on methadone therapy for people with opioid use disorder.

Despite scientific consensus that MOUD is the standard of care for opioid use disorder, Jefferson County denies MOUD access to those detained at the Jefferson County Jail. Access to MOUD has been the subject of litigation across the country, including in Maine, Massachusetts, and Washington State. The suit filed argues that Jefferson County Jail’s policy of prohibiting MOUD violates due process protections under the Fourteenth Amendment and discriminates against people with opioid use disorder, like P.G., in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and state anti-discrimination laws.