Over the last several decades, much of the world has made significant progress in how it views and responds to the affliction we’ve come to refer to as substance use disorder. Whereas people who once struggled with the misuse of and addiction to drugs and alcohol were once dismissed as weak and flawed, we’ve learned that substance use disorder is an illness not unlike many others that can and should give rise to treatment rather than judgment and ostracization.

A recent lawsuit settlement should help advance this ongoing piece of societal progress. The case involved a pair of North Carolina skilled nursing facilities that sought to deny admission to an individual in violation of multiple federal laws because of his substance use disorder and recent drug use. The case settlement requires the facilities to develop and implement a Substance Use Disorder Non-Discrimination Policy and to implement several other modern, medically sound policies and recently, in order to learn more, we caught up with a pair of attorneys from the nonprofit that helped spearhead the case, Disability Rights North Carolina: Holly Stiles and Sara Harrington.

Click here to listen to the full interview Holly Stiles and Sara Harrington.