Dr. Marynia Kolak was a co-author on a study published recently in the Journal of the American Medical Assocation (JAMA): Factors Associated With the Availability of Medications for Opioid Use Disorder in US Jails. Since its publication, the National Institutes of Health has published a press release and many news outlets have begun to cover the story and share the findings with readers.
Commentary by Dr. Sandra Springer, Yale School of Medicine: It is hard to believe but true that in 2024, with all the evidence that MOUD are associated with reduced death in persons with OUD and the incredibly high level of diagnosed individuals in our jail and community settings, we continue to see a lack of provision of these lifesaving medications to people who need and want them. The time is now to stop underusing these effective treatments in our jails and other carceral and community settings. The medications work, but we as a society need to help remove barriers for people to access these evidenced-based medications wherever they are to end the opioid overdose epidemic now.
National Institutes of Health press release: “Offering substance use disorder treatment in justice settings helps to break the debilitating — and often fatal — cycle of addiction and incarceration,” said NIDA Director Nora D. Volkow, M.D. “Though someone may be in jail for only a short time, connecting them to addiction treatment while they are there is critical to reduce risk of relapse and overdose, and to help them achieve long-term recovery.”
Minnesota Star Tribune: Studies indicate that access to addiction medication, such as buprenorphine, methadone and naltrexone, can reduce the number of deadly overdoses which frequently occur shortly after someone leaves jail or prison.
USA Today: Because risk of overdose death is 129 times higher among those just released from prison than among the general population, ensuring that people stay on their meds when they’re released is essential. In Rhode Island, a program to provide all three addiction medications in the state’s prisons and jails reduced overdose deaths among the recently incarcerated by more than 60% in two years.
PhillyVoice: Less than half of U.S. jails offer people medication for treating opioid addiction, despite the fact that around two-thirds of those incarcerated have some form of substance use disorder, according to a new study. The study published Tuesday in JAMA Network Open found that just over 40% of jails surveyed across the country offer any form of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), and about 13% made MOUD available to anyone with the disorder. About half of the jails surveyed said they did not provide MOUD due to lack of adequate licensed staff.
The Hill: Larger jails or jails in counties with lower rates of poverty and unemployment or those close to community-based providers of opioid use disorder medications are more likely to offer treatment, according to the new study.