The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court waded into the debate over psychiatric patients in hospital emergency rooms Thursday. The central question in this case is how long hospital emergency rooms can hold someone who is civilly committed to psychiatric treatment. Most committed patients first go to emergency rooms, where doctors determine if the patient should be […]
Deborah Becker
WBUR
Posted inArticle, Health
Mass. Prisons Agree To Extend Medication For Addiction Treatment After Lawsuit
The Massachusetts Department of Correction will allow some prisoners to continue taking addiction medication, after a lawsuit alleging that state prison policies limit the treatment’s use. The suit, filed on behalf of three men who are currently incarcerated in state prisons, alleges that DOC officials limit access to the addiction medication buprenorphine, which the men take to […]
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3 Former Mass. Prosecutors Face Possible Discipline In Drug Lab Scandal
The state board that oversees lawyers is recommending possible disciplinary action against three former Massachusetts prosecutors over how they handled a state drug lab scandal.
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What To Know About Section 35 Civil Commitments In Mass.
Massachusetts’ Section 35 Commission was created in August 2018 as part of opioid legislation from Gov. Charlie Baker. The commission was tasked with reviewing the “efficacy” of Section 35, a state law that allows people to be involuntarily committed to addiction treatment. The Section 35 Commission released its final recommendations this week. Along with a look at its […]
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Tour Highlights How U.S. And European Countries Differ On Young Criminal Offenders
The group walked through gleaming hallways and landscaped grounds, then into a large gymnasium. The guests said they were impressed. “In Croatia, we do not have such brand new institutions,” said Lana Peto Kujundžić, a juvenile judge in Croatia. “They are all old and they do not have so many spaces.”Kujundžić was among four visitors from […]
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AG Healey Sends Warnings To Violators Of State’s ‘Ban The Box’ Rule
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey is warning state businesses not to unfairly discriminate against job applicants with criminal records. Healey’s office says an investigation made public Monday found 19 businesses had violated the state’s “ban the box” law, which bars employers from asking about criminal record information on a candidate’s initial job application. The attorney general says the law […]
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Group Of Civilly Committed Men Sues Mass. Alleging Gender Discrimination
A group of men is suing the state of Massachusetts over the law, known as “Section 35,” that allowed a judge to involuntarily commit each of them to addiction treatment.
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‘The Hurt Is Still There’: Clergy Abuse Survivors, Others React To Cardinal Law’s Death
Reaction to the death of Cardinal Bernard Law , the man who came to be the face of the sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church, has been emotional,…
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BMC Receives Largest Addiction Medicine Donation In Past Decade
Officials gathered at the Boston Medical Center to announce the largest private gift in the hospital’s history. The $25 million donation will be used to…
