Judges, drug court officials targeted by pharmaceutical company regarding its anti-opioid medication
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Judges and drug court officials are being targeted by pharmaceutical company Alkermes in the marketing of Vivitrol, a drug used to fight opioid addiction.
The marketing alarms many treatment specialists who say criminal justice officials with no medical training should not be making decisions about medical treatment, National Public Radio reports.
The NPR report follows a story by ProPublica that found Alkermes has persuaded hundreds of judges to favor Vivitrol injections. Though offenders aren’t forced to take the drug, they are sometimes essentially given the choice of accepting the injections or going to jail.
In Indiana, at least eight courts out of several dozen allow only Vivitrol treatment, according to the NPR story. Alkermes has also marketed the drug to court officials in Missouri and Ohio, the network reported.
Also using the drug are drug courts in Alaska and West Virginia; parole officials in Michigan; and prison officials in Illinois, Wisconsin, Vermont, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania, who give inmates the shots before their release, according to ProPublica.
Vivitrol, an extended-release form of naltrexone, blocks opioid receptors in the brain. It is one of three medications approved for the treatment of opioid addiction. The other two drugs, buprenorphine and methadone, are opioid substitutes that don’t give patients a high when used properly.
Judge Lewis Gregory of Greenwood, Indiana, told NPR he began a Vivitrol program in his court after meeting with a Alkermes sales representative. The meeting was arranged after the judge received some literature about the drug and a call from the rep. Now the rep sometimes attends his court’s treatment team meetings.
Alkermes CEO Richard Pops told ProPublica that he does not support drug courts requiring Vivitrol shots, and it’s not the appropriate drug for every patient. He attributes the drug’s popularity in the criminal justice system more to local demand that company sales efforts.
“It was sheriffs, police chiefs and charismatic judges who took it upon themselves to see if they could drive better outcomes,” he said. “It was people saying the status quo isn’t working.”
Hat tip to @JustADCohen.
