California prisons have life-saving addiction treatment. Doctors say the parole board is undermining it.

PUBLISHED: February 19, 2026

Cal Matters discusses how signing up for substance use disorder treatment in California prisons can set back a prisoner’s chance for freedom because it involves taking more frequent drug tests, the results of which are prone to error.

"California’s parole board is using unreliable drug test results in decisions about releasing incarcerated people despite flaws that were exposed in a rash of false positives two years ago, more than a dozen state prison doctors and state-appointed attorneys say. ..."

CAADPE's executive director, Robb Lane, was interview for the article:

“When someone refuses life-saving medication because they fear it will keep them in prison, the system has failed them. Unless this is done correctly, medical treatment is being weaponized against people who need it the most.”