U.S. Settlement Secures Safeguards for Addiction Treatment Medicine

According to A.P. News, after being dismissed for taking Suboxone to treat his opiate addiction, a former Tennessee correctional officer filed a historic consent decree in federal court in Nashville on Wednesday, demanding $160,000 in back pay and damages.  

As per the U.S. Department of Justice, this is the first time the ADA has been utilized to resolve a discrimination action against an employee for using a prescription drug to treat addiction.

The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division issued new guidelines less than a year ago, informing employers, health care providers, law enforcement agencies that operate jails, and others that discriminating against people taking prescription medications to treat opioid use disorder is a violation of the ADA.

The Justice Department has made it quite clear that drug users have no legal protection in the United States. He had received glowing reviews and promotions for years, but a drug test in 2018 revealed that he was using Suboxone to manage his opiate addiction, and he was given the option to quit or be fired.

According to the complaint filed in federal court on Wednesday, the Cumberland County sheriff’s office “fails to make individualized assessments of its team member’s ability to perform the essential functions of their jobs… when they are taking legally prescribed medications,” in violation of the policy prohibiting employees from being on controlled substances while at work.  

As part of a settlement deal filed on Wednesday, the county agreed to pay the former employee $160,000, amend its recruiting standards, and provide ADA compliance training. Before the decree may take effect, it must be signed by a court. The first case management meeting is set to take place on Friday.  

Dr. Marc Stern, a correctional physician and University of Washington School of Public Health professor, believes that opioid-containing medications such as Suboxone should not be stigmatized due to their usefulness.  

“Taking these medications can assist a person suffering from a condition in resuming normal functioning. It boosts their health in this way. Stern said that this helped people keep their employment.” Furthermore, the DOJ has spoken, and its position is now enshrined in law. It is beyond a company’s control whether or not it recognizes this.  

The euphoric effects of opioids on the brain result in the development of physical withdrawal symptoms. Cramping, sweating, anxiety, and insomnia are all withdrawal symptoms. Relapse is common when drug cravings are powerful enough to linger for years. Buprenorphine, marketed as Suboxone and approved by the Food and Medication Administration, is the opioid of choice for decreasing drug cravings.  

Surprisingly, the number of fatal overdoses in the U.S. has not dropped. According to the CDC, overdoses killed over 107,000 individuals in the United States in the fiscal year that ended on August 31. Opioids were involved in about 81 thousand of the cases.

The proposed consent decree in Tennessee is timely, considering Vice President Joe Biden’s administration’s emphasis on boosting access to addiction treatment.

Biden recently signed legislation that will allow doctors to prescribe buprenorphine without first seeking an exemption. And he’s created a national drug control program that prioritizes saving addicts’ lives by getting them into treatment for the first time.