BOSTON (AP) A federal appeals court has denied an emergency request to stop a jail from being forced to provide an inmate with medication she says is needed to keep her opioid addiction in remission.
The Aroostook County Jail appealed to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals after a judge in Maine granted a preliminary injunction requiring the jail to provide physician-prescribed medication to Brenda Smith. The appeals court denied the jail’s motion on Monday.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Maine says the denial means the jail will be required to provide medication, sold under the trade name Suboxone, when Smith reports for her sentence May 1.
Attorney Peter Marchesi, who represents the jail, says it’s unclear whether the court will schedule arguments before the date Smith reports to jail.
