title: New policy on methadone maintenance treatment in prisons established in Alberta.
abstract: The right of a prisoner to access methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) while incarcerated in a correctional institution has recently been raised and examined in the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench case of Milton Cardinal v The Director of the Edmonton Remand Centre and the Director of the Fort Saskatchewan Correctional Centre. This is a significant, precedent-setting case. For the first time, a Canadian court has ordered that a prisoner be provided with MMT during his or her period of incarceration. As a result of the case, and just before it was to proceed to trial, Alberta changed its policy and is now providing MMT to its provincial prisoners--at least when they had been receiving MMT prior to their incarceration.
authors.forename: Nathan J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Whitling
mesh_terms: D000416:Alberta; D006291:Health Policy; D006556:Heroin Dependence / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008691:Methadone / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011329:Prisoners; D011330:Prisons / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000458:organization & administration
chemical_list: D008691:Methadone