In June, the South Middlesex Opportunity Council (SMOC), which ran the only detox program in the MetroWest area, ended its treatment services after the Department of Public Health stopped providing funding to it. The SMOC had been admitting 1,300 people to its program annually.

Since then, addicted women in search of treatment are left with the hospital emergency room, the courts and police as options.

"We have seen an increase in our civil population," said Pamm MacEachern, director of treatment and classification at MCI-Framingham. Civil population means individuals who have been referred to the prison on court order because they are considered a danger to themselves or others.

According to MCI-Framingham Superintendent Lynn Bissonnette, there have been 100 more admissions for detox services in the women's prison this year compared to the same time last year.

"We see the rising numbers," she said.

Statewide, there are 16 detox programs still open as of June.

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