Medication Reduces Rearrest, Reconviction.

• Position: INCARCERATED ADDICTS

People with opioid use disorder who were incarcerated and were given buprenorphine were less likely to face rearrest and reconviction after release than those who did not receive the medication, indicates a study in two rural Massachusetts jails. There was a 32% reduction in rates of probation violations, reincarcerations, or court charges when the facility offered buprenorphine to people in jail compared to when it did not. The findings were published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

A growing body of evidence suggests that medications used to treat opioid use disorder--including buprenorphine, methadone, and naltrexone--hold great potential to improve outcomes among individuals after they are released. However, offering these evidence-based treatments to people with opioid use disorder who pass through the justice system currently is not standard-of-care in U.S. jails and prisons, and most jails that do offer them are in large urban centers.

While previous studies have investigated the impact of buprenorphine provision on overdose rates, risk for infectious disease, and other health effects related to opioid use among people who are incarcerated, this study is one of the first to evaluate the impact specifically on...