Franklin County Sheriff Explains Support For Medically Assisted Treatments In Jail

In November, WAMC aired an interview with Berkshire County Sheriff Thomas Bowler. In it, he expressed his disbelief in the effectiveness of medically assisted treatments – or MATs – for inmates suffering from opioid addictions. Bowler favors an abstinence policy over medications like suboxone and methadone. His statements underscored the lack of consensus in the commonwealth over the role of MATs in the criminal justice system. Sheriff Christopher Donelan, his neighbor to the east, runs the Franklin County House Of Corrections in Greenfield, Massachusetts. First elected in 2011, Donelan embraced the use of MATs in the jail in 2016. He spoke with WAMC about why he’s become an advocate for the practice.