Incarceration is a relatively common experience among the estimated 15.6 million opioid-dependent adults in the world.1 In the US, it has been estimated that between 24% and 36% of opioid-dependent adults cycle in and out of jails each year.2,3 Incarceration of these individuals often results in opioid withdrawal syndrome, which, at a minimum, should be treated humanely.1,4 Beyond safe and effective opioid withdrawal treatment, there are three major opportunities to provide effective pharmacotherapy to inmates.

Deputy Director Leary highlights examples of MAT programs that are viable and beneficial components of prison and re-entry services.

Using Narcan as a starting point for local and county corrections policies

Medication-assisted treatment with Narcan improves both public health and public safety. The trend towards medicationassisted treatment reduces harm, saves lives, and meets the immediate need of an individual in crisis. The question becomes: what happens next?

Philip Kirby says he first used heroin during a stint in a halfway house a few years ago, when he was 21 years old. He quickly formed a habit.

"You can't really dabble in it," he says.

Late last year, Kirby was driving with drugs and a syringe in his car when he got pulled over. He went to jail for a few months on a separate charge before entering a drug court program in Hamilton County, Ind., north of Indianapolis. But before Kirby started, he says the court pressured him to get a shot of a drug called Vivitrol.

COLUMBIA - Inmates suffering from addictions to heroin and prescription pain pills may soon have new treatment options in South Carolina prisons.

The S.C. Department of Corrections has launched a pilot program where the agency will administer Vivitrol - one of three federally approved treatment drugs for opioid addiction.

State Corrections Director Bryan Stirling said the agency hopes the treatment effort will help incarcerated individuals suffering from addiction while behind prison fences, and allow them to avoid heroin and pain pills once they are released.

There is a national opioid epidemic and one intervention to help those suffering from an opioid use disorder (OUD) is medication-assisted treatment (MAT). MAT is the use of medications in conjunction with behavioral therapy as part of a long-term treatment regimen. There are three main MAT medications used today—methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone. Research has shown MAT, in particular the use of methadone or buprenorphine, is considered an evidence-based practice to treat OUD. Studies indicate those in MAT have better outcomes than those who engage in therapy alone.

The California Legislature provided the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) $10.4 million over two years to implement a contraband interdiction effort. Beginning in fiscal year 2014-2015, CDCR implemented the Enhanced Drug and Contraband Interdiction Program (EDCIP) demonstration. The program involved interdiction efforts at 11 of California’s prisons; eight receiving a moderate intervention and three receiving an intensive intervention.

On June 19, 2017, The Pew Charitable Trusts submitted a letter to the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, outlining an analysis of whether state drug imprisonment rates are linked to the nature and extent of state drug problems - a key question as the nation faces an escalating opioid epidemic. Pew compared publicly available data from law enforcement, corrections, and health agencies from all 50 states.

Letter provides new 50-state data to the federal opioid commission

On June 19, 2017, The Pew Charitable Trusts submitted a letter to the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, outlining an analysis of whether state drug imprisonment rates are linked to the nature and extent of state drug problems—a key question as the nation faces an escalating opioid epidemic. Pew compared publicly available data from law enforcement, corrections, and health agencies from all 50 states.

Heroin, once the top illicit drug in prison, has been replaced by the cheaper and easier to smuggle suboxone, which was meant to help opiate addicts.