"A lot of these inmates are our neighbors and it's in our best interest to assimilate them back into the community, but some would end up dying," said Somerset County Sheriff Dale P. Lancaster. "For me, that's not acceptable."
Hoping to change those grim outcomes, Lancaster decided to try providing a different - and far less common - form of the medication, buprenorphine: an extended-release shot that subdues urges for about 28 days.
The jail's experience is "an important step in showing where we as a society can go to cut back on people dying from this disease," said Dr. Josiah Rich.
According to a recent analysis in the journal Health and Justice about his jail's pilot project, the switch had a remarkable effect. The long-acting injection afforded newly released prisoners a crucial buffer period after they were discharged.
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