A federal lawsuit and interviews describe how long waits for medication-assisted treatment in Los Angeles County jails can leave inmates exposed to fentanyl and heroin overdoses—after years of reported budget shortfalls and staffing limits.
When Cleavotta Morgan answers the phone from inside Men’s Central Jail, it’s not just a call. It’s a ritual that, for weeks, kept her son’s world close enough to bear.
Daejon Morgan, a 20-year-old inmate, called her every day from his cell at the Los Angeles County jail. He would ask her to pass the phone around to different family members. She would sometimes put the receiver up to her dog Hunter’s ear so the animal could hear his excitement at the sound of his voice.
“We thought it would be a safe place for him,” Cleavotta Morgan said of her son and the L.A. County jail system.
On Oct. 30, 2024, that sense of safety shattered. Morgan said she heard screams during one call. Then an unfamiliar voice came on the line.
“[Daejon] went down,” the man said. “I’m sorry I gotta put the phone down and get help.”
Morgan died in his cell from an overdose caused by fentanyl and heroin, according to an autopsy.
In the account that now sits at the center of a federal lawsuit. Daejon Morgan was one of hundreds of inmates waiting to receive medication-assisted treatment for drug addiction. according to two Los Angeles County Correctional Health Services staff members with knowledge of the situation who were not authorized to speak publicly. The therapy uses drugs such as buprenorphine or Suboxone to quell addiction cravings and reduce withdrawal symptoms.
Los Angeles County allotted $25 million this fiscal year to fund the treatment program in local jails. But interviews with Correctional Health Services staff and current jail detainees described waits in county custody that often stretch for weeks—and sometimes several months—before inmates receive medication-assisted treatment.
The human toll is visible in the numbers as well. A Times analysis of Sheriff’s Department data found that Los Angeles County inmates were roughly three times more likely to die in county custody in 2025 than they were in 2016. Overdoses accounted for about a quarter of the 46 in-custody deaths in 2025. Already this year, 21 jail inmates have died, though autopsy results are still pending to determine the causes.
In Daejon Morgan’s case. one Correctional Health Services staffer said immediate access to medication-assisted treatment could have saved his life. That staffer. who requested anonymity because they feared professional repercussions. described a system where medical support can become contingent on time and capacity rather than urgency.
The lawsuit brought by Morgan’s family alleges that jail staff showed “deliberate indifference” to his serious medical needs after he was hospitalized for a separate overdose weeks before his death. The family also alleges the County failed to stop dangerous drugs from circulating inside the jail system. In court filings, the county has denied liability in Morgan’s death and disputed most of the family’s claims.
Those disputes run into a separate paper trail. A 2024 report by Los Angeles County’s Office of Inspector General reviewed jail conditions in the months preceding Morgan’s death and found the department exceeded its addiction treatment budget for the fiscal quarter by nearly $300. 000. leaving 200-300 inmates waiting to receive support.
Robin Young, a spokesperson for L.A. County’s Public Health Department, told The Times there is currently no wait list for jail inmates to receive addiction treatment, noting longer waits in the past were caused by budget strains limiting the supply of medication and staffing.
Still, inmates describe a very different experience. One inmate told The Times that after serving three weeks for petty theft. they entered the Inmate Reception Center while already enrolled in a nonprofit medication assisted treatment program before their arrest. They said they never received buprenorphine while in county custody.
Another inmate told The Times she was arrested while high on fentanyl and had to detox without medication while chained to a metal bar for hours. Both inmates requested anonymity because they were concerned about retaliation for speaking out about the issue.
The Sheriff’s Department, which manages L.A. jails, said it has taken “aggressive action” to prevent drug trafficking and overdoses in its facilities. It pointed to stricter security screenings and a new dorm where inmates who have experienced an overdose can opt for voluntary drug treatment. But the same department acknowledged that in some cases. inmates will wait weeks or months for a medical form needed to request substance use treatment. and that longer waits can occur if there is an active drug treatment wait list. according to audits by the Sybil Brand Commission. a civilian jail watchdog.
The delays can also spike sharply. In December 2025. the wait list for medication-assisted treatment grew to some 835 inmates before a fresh wave of funding for medicine brought the queue back down to zero. according to Robb Layne. executive director of the California Association of Alcohol and Drug Program Executives. He said the list is likely to spike again unless the program gets more funding.
“If it’s not zero, it’s too many people,” Layne said. “If this was somebody with diabetes, or a heart condition, we wouldn’t be talking about a wait list.”
Layne’s group has pushed county leaders to fund a continuous drug addiction treatment program, expanding access for those who need it both during and after incarceration.
Supervisor Janice Hahn has taken up the issue. backing a March motion directing county departments to report back on jail deaths and overdose prevention. Correctional Health Services has requested additional funds for medication-assisted treatment this budget cycle. subject to approval from the Board of Supervisors.
Money, in this account, has been both available and diverted. After joining litigation against pharmaceutical companies blamed for causing the U.S. opioid epidemic, L.A. County received an $8-million settlement this past fiscal year that was initially earmarked for the jail’s addiction treatment program. But Correctional Health Services said that money was spent on unrelated jail costs.
Correctional Health Services said the county has expanded the number of monthly buprenorphine injections and daily Suboxone strips dispensed to patients in custody in recent years. Still, it said routine budget restrictions continue to precipitate delays in treatment.
Most recently, in April, a funding shortfall strained the supply of medicine, according to the two correctional health staff members who requested anonymity.
One of those staff members said delayed access to medication-assisted treatment happens frequently and that many colleagues fear losing their medical licenses for malpractice.
“It’s my job to keep people from overdosing, but there are times when we are not treating people because of our budget,” the staff member said. “We’re basically saying, ‘We’re sorry, we don’t have the funds to treat you right now,’ and then people die of overdoses.”
Correctional Health Services has acknowledged that the drug treatment budget is strained. A recent health services audit report said what is needed are stronger actions to prevent the introduction of fentanyl and methamphetamines into the [jails].
In a lawsuit filed last year, California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta accused the Sheriff’s Department of failing to screen jail staff for contraband and offering inadequate training to prevent overdose deaths. That same lawsuit said the county “limits access” to medication-assisted treatment. leading inmates to experience “relapse and avoidable withdrawal symptoms.” The lawsuit remains pending.
For Dr. Terrence Keel, a UCLA professor whose lab has studied deaths in custody through autopsy reports and public records, the core issue is medical sufficiency. He said the lack of an adequate drug treatment program is unconstitutional.
“It’s a form of cruel and unusual punishment,” he said.
Research has found the risk of fatal overdose is high for jail inmates who are released without access to medication-assisted treatment.
Dr. Michael Hochman, CEO of Healthcare in Action—a local street medicine nonprofit—said he has seen the effect firsthand. “I have patients tell me all the time how painful it was to [detox] with no support for days and weeks while they’re incarcerated. ” he said. “They’re absolutely dying in there. untreated. and they just sit there with all the pain of withdrawal until they get discharged without meds. and then of course go back to using.”.
None of the reporting brings back the minutes lost on Oct. 30, 2024. It does. however. place a question front and center for people watching Los Angeles County’s jail system from the outside: how many times can a wait turn into a fatal overdose—and still be treated as an unavoidable delay rather than a preventable one.
Los Angeles County jails overdoses fentanyl heroin medication-assisted treatment buprenorphine Suboxone Men’s Central Jail federal lawsuit addiction treatment wait list
So they’re saying he overdosed because they didn’t give him meds??
I don’t get it, like why is it taking forever to get treatment in jail? Aren’t they supposed to be monitoring people 24/7? Seems like budget excuses to me.
Wait, the mom would call every day and even put the phone near the dog?? That’s heartbreaking. But also I’m confused how fentanyl got in there in the first place—like if the jail has metal detectors and stuff, right? Maybe it’s more about who they actually let in than the treatment thing.
This is what happens when the county keeps saying “staffing shortages” like it’s a weather report. If they can’t do treatment fast, then what exactly are they doing besides waiting for bad outcomes. And they act surprised every time. I feel for that mom, like the screaming call part is just… wow.