I've been really frustrated about this issue! It provoked me to do some more research on the subject. If an addict inmate needs treatment for addiction and doesn't get it, his medical needs aren't being met. I say medical because addiction is a disease. I think that drug addiction is the most devastating chronic illness of them all. I've worked with pts with chronic illness my entire career as a nurse. I've been a little worried all along because I don't want to do anything that could be detrimental to my son. I have also found that though prisoners don't have full constitutional rights, they do have rights. This is from the American Civil Liberties Union. "The failure to provide prisoners with access to needed health care too often results in tragedy. It also violates the U.S. Constitution. Nearly forty years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Estelle v. Gamble that ignoring a prisoner’s serious medical needs can amount to cruel and unusual punishment, noting that “[a]n inmate must rely on prison authorities to treat his medical needs; if the authorities fail to do so, those needs will not be met. In the worst cases, such a failure may actually produce physical torture or a lingering death." I know this may be considered extreme but I sure do think failure to treat results in a lingering death! Several people have reached out to help me. Thank you for that. My picture this time is Jimmy as a child. He is now 28 and been an addict for nearly half of his life.