PHILADELPHIA – The Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project (PILP) has filed a lawsuit against George W. Hill Correctional Facility on behalf of a man they say is being denied adequate treatment for his opioid use disorder (OUD). Shawn Strickland, 40, who has been diagnosed with OUD, was detained at George W. Hill Correctional Facility on August 6, 2021. Since then, the jail has refused to provide him his lifesaving prescribed methadone, a medication for opioid use disorder, which he has been on since 2010, even though the jail routinely provides this medication to pregnant people. This denial of medication has caused “forced” or involuntary withdrawal for Mr. Strickland, precipitating weeks of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, anxiety, seizures, bone and joint pain, depression, excessive sweating, insomnia, and unrelenting cravings for opioids.

This forced withdrawal also increases his risk of relapse, overdose, and death post-release. PILP is demanding Mr. Strickland be provided with his prescribed methadone during his detention at George W. Hill Correctional Facility.

“Opioid use disorder is a chronic brain disease that permanently rewires the brain for addiction. People with OUD cannot simply “will” or “reason” their way out of continued opioid use, even when they are aware of the dire consequences of continued use,” explained Adrienne Abner, staff attorney with the Pennsylvania institutional Law Project. “To deny Mr. Strickland methadone as a treatment for his disorder is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and his rights to adequate medical care in prison. The administration of George W. Hill must rectify this situation immediately to prevent him and others in his situation from experiencing further harm.”

The lawsuit, Strickland v. Delaware County, 21 Civ. 4141, was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The plaintiff is represented by Adrienne Abner and Su Ming Yeh of the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project.

For more information, please visit pailp.org/legal-docket/strickland