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Medications in Jail
LA County Jail Interview
*Names have been changed to protect privacy.
Jail Media: Did you always have access to medications?
Ben Smith: That’s the biggest thing. When you’re getting processed in, they don’t want you dying in there, so they’ll ask you what kind of medication you take. You have to be totally honest about it. Tell them if you’re allergic to anything, or what kind of pills you take. That’s the bad thing about LA, is that they have so many people in there, that it’s going to hold up your process to getting housed because you have to see the nurse. It will take an extra day. If you don’t need medication, don’t ask for it. A lot of new inmates will go see the nurse because they want to avoid going to the dorms for as long as they can. It’s not going to help – it’s going to put you off by anther day. You’re going to be so tired, you’re going to wish you had gone to the dorm right away. The best thing to do is just get it over with. As soon as you get in there, just go. It’s too late now – just suck it up, get a bed, and act like another inmate.
Jail Media: How do they deliver the medications?
Ben Smith: Three times a day, a nurse will come to you, or they’ll call your name and they’ll have you go to the nurse’s office to give you your medicine. There’s a lot of people with diabetes in there, so they have to do blood pressure checks and stuff like that.
