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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.

Josh Landes has been WAMC's Berkshire Bureau Chief since February 2018, following stints at WBGO Newark and WFMU East Orange. A passionate advocate for Western Massachusetts, Landes was raised in Pittsfield and attended Hampshire College in Amherst, receiving his bachelor's in Ethnomusicology and Radio Production. His free time is spent with his cat Harry, experimental electronic music, and exploring the woods.
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