By the time of Villanueva’s hospital stay in 2017, researchers and doctors had known for years that medications can rapidly pass from mother to baby, causing positive drug test results. Two tests from Villanueva’s prenatal visits, and another test done right before she went into labor, all showed the mother had no drugs in her system. The morphine given to Villanueva for her contractions was documented in her medical records. But the staff reported her to the state child welfare agency anyway, hospital records show.
Marion General Hospital in Indiana did not respond to requests for comment. Brian Heinemann, a spokesperson for the Indiana Department of Child Services, declined to comment on Villanueva’s case, but said policy has since changed to ensure that drug screen results alone are not used to substantiate an allegation of abuse or neglect.
Exactly, and one of my biggest disappointments in this last election and presidency is that nobody is really talking about it. We should be decriminalizing or legalizing marijuana nationally, and decriminalizing possession charges under some amount.
Jail isn’t going to fix an addict, what they need is stable housing and well-funded rehab programs for when they decide to get clean.