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Medications

Interview with Julie, Inmate's Sister, Houston, Claire, Jim, Inmate's Mom, Smyth, Ken, Charlene, Greg, GMan, Jamie, Leisha, Toby, Lisa, Consuela, Tiffany, Tom, Rachel, Ralph, Chris, Sandy, Ginger, Craig and Lesley

JM: Did you always have access to necessary medications?
Julie: did not need any
Inmate's Sister: yes tylenol or advil
Houston: Yes.
Claire: I never took meds, but it seemed like there was no problems with other inmates having access to their meds.
Jim: yes when medical finally gets it straight. It costs each inmate for medical services. If you dont have money they will put it on your account and when you do get money they take it first before you make commissary.
Inmate's Mom: Yes, after the officers beat him up they did let him go to the infirmary.
Smyth: Yes, you were allowed to get your medicine.
Ken: Did not apply
Charlene: no
Greg: none.
GMan: Not applicable
Jamie: no
Leisha: NO, MEDICAL TREAT YOU LIKE YO AIN'T SH*
Toby: well i did but you had to write a request for what you needed.
Lisa: No.I am hypothyroid and it took me 3 days to get a bottle of pills. I had left mine at my house.
Consuela: No, I am diabetic and I suffer from depression and hypertention. I was told that my depression medication wasn't needed. I was sent to medical and waited more that 5 days to ge tmy medicine. That is the main reason so many inmates die waiting on medicine or medical attention.
Tiffany: Nope.
Tom: i did not take medications
Rachel: NA
Ralph: No. That was the saddest part about being there. I only needed ONE drug. A simple one. For gastric reflux. It's not a narcotic. It can't be abused. But if I don't have it my throat closes up and I will choke on my food. I would have to beg daily for this drug. I would go weeks without it. I would have to stop eating anything because I could not swallow. Medical attention was so bad in Harris County jail that it was to the level of being a human rights violation. I watched a man die just feet in front of me because his request for medical attention were denied. He didn't have to die. His condition was treatable. I developed an infection on my bottom eye lid. My eye swelled up. I asked to see a doctor several times over the course of 2-3 days and was refused. I finally had to show a sergeant that my eye was red and swollen nearly shut before I could see a doctor. The entire time I was in the infirmary the nurses were loudly complaining that I was preventing them from going home! It's an atrocity!
Chris: i didnt take meds but i did have acccess if i needed it.
Sandy: yes if you were sick they did take care of you but it is not free they take the money off your books to pay
Ginger: I don't take any but they were available.
Craig: yes I always had access to the meds
Lesley: yes the nurses cart went by twice a day

JM: How did you get your medications?
Julie: They were brought to u by nurse
Inmate's Sister: nurse
Houston: A cart that came by and called your name.
Claire: The infirmary would send around a cart to each pod.
Jim: the nurse goes to each cell house
Smyth: Stand in line while guards tell you what a failure you are.
Charlene: I went through med clinic for the inmates, but never got all of my medications. They even told me it would take 30 days to receive all my medications.
Greg: through the person in charge called the rep, she helped me with everything.
GMan: Not applicable
Jamie: nurse
Leisha: PILL CART
Toby: the nurse would come around and pass out medications.
Lisa: A nurse brought them to me
Consuela: A medicine cart comes around to administer medications at appropriate times. But the hard part is to get the medicine assigned to you. It cost to see the doctor it is NOT free. They take money off your comissary.
Tiffany: Never did.
Rachel: NA
Ralph: When I got them, they were KOP (keep on person) which meant that I could keep them at my bunk and use them when I needed them. If the medication is not KOP, a nurse comes around with a cart and issues the dosage to the inmates one at a time.
Chris: like i said idid not take any types of medications but if i needed medications alll i would have to do is go see the doctor.
Sandy: a nurse came in and you had to show your tongue because people sell meds and they want to make sure that you take it and they stand there until you do
Ginger: Anyone who took meds had to stand in line at the door when they called people for the medicatiion line.
Craig: Medication carts came twice a day, emergency medical staff barely available if you were in Bad enough shape!nothing was given for pain, except IBprofuen
Lesley: yes i did since i was such a mess when i came in and on suicide watch they gave me thorazine and i thing the other one was tramadol

JM: What types of punishments were incurred for abuse of drugs? Did you ever witness this?
Julie: No one in my house had that problem from what i noticed
Inmate's Sister: lockdown
Houston: Dont know
Claire: I wouldn't know first hand, but I could imagine that the punishment would have been pretty severe.
Jim: THEY LOCK YOU DOWN IN SEG
Smyth: You would probably be given another County case to be responsible for as soon as your sentence was up.
Charlene: Public humiliation from officers
Greg: lockdown I assume.
GMan: Not applicable
Jamie: -------------
Leisha: LOST OF PRIVILIDGES
Toby: well i don't know about that.
Lisa: I don't know. I didn't abuse mine.
Consuela: None.
Rachel: dunno
Ralph: Pscyh meds were abused routinely in my pod. Drugs were bought, sold and abused every day. The drug cart would come around twice a day - in the morning and late afternoon - and there would be a RACE to get to the front of the line to get the drugs and then sell them real quick before anybody else did. Then they would go and crush up the drugs and snort them. This happened every day that I was there. There was never any punishment for it.
Chris: no one that lives on the worker dorms is allowed to be on psych meds however i did witness a lot of them buying psych meds from inmates on other blocks . i am not sure what would happen if they would have been caught.
Sandy: no but I am sure serve punishment and loss of time that you had already did I did not witness this but I did witness two women fighting and pulling each others hair
Ginger: If anyone was caught using drugs or selling their meds they would have to go to court for it but I never saw it.
Craig: they would strip search I and then they would put you in the gold. I witnessed the masing someone for having drugs
Lesley: i do not believe anyone every got caught palming or checking their pills while i was in there i know they keep eye out

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