Suboxone is incarceration prevention in a bottle.
A wonderful “side effect” of Suboxone treatment is that it helps keep people out of trouble and out of jail.
Suboxone treatment is associated with big drops in criminal activity and incarceration, a recent study shows.
Only 2 percent of opiate-dependent people treated with Suboxone reported committing crimes as compared to 19 percent of those who are untreated.
Only 1 percent of opiate-dependent people treated with Suboxone reported having contact with the criminal justice system as compared to 16 percent of those who are not in treatment.
The study analyzed data from a randomized clinical trial of 166 opiate-dependent people, and was conducted in a primary care clinic. Opiates include heroin and prescription pain killers like Oxycontin. The study was reported at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Internal Medicine.
These results don’t surprise me. They are very much in line with what I observe working as a counselor with opiate-dependent clients.
People who are addicted to opiates often feel driven to commit crimes that they do not want to commit. And the consequences are devastating.
Years of youth, young adulthood and adulthood are often lost to incarceration. Marriages end and families are broken apart. Inmates often experience violence. Incarcerated people in need of mental health and drug treatment rarely get the care they need. And medical care is often of poor quality.
I don’t share the cavalier attitude of many in the tough love crowd who view incarceration as a good thing.
After working with hundreds of opiate-dependent inmates and former inmates, I have concluded that:
- Incarceration can result in serious and permanent harm
- Incarceration is not necessary to recovery, and other options are both more effective and less risky
- Incarceration is not treatment and is not effective in building long term recovery
- Incarceration delays recovery
- Cycling in and out of jail is destabilizing and makes achieving the stability necessary for long term recovery more difficult
- Incarcerating people living with addiction instead of offering them a realistic path to recovery including effective treatment is immoral
I have seen how Suboxone treatment drastically reduces criminal activity and incarceration. This is of great benefit to our communities both because there are fewer victims of crime, and because incarcerating people is very expensive (in my state it costs about $50,000 per person per year). But also important is the benefit to those who are living with opiate addiction, their children and other family members.
Since Suboxone treatment helps cut crime and risk of incarceration, Suboxone treatment may be especially useful for those who are:
- committing crimes
- on probation or parole
- in drug court
It often makes sense for Suboxone patients who are on probation/parole or enrolled in drug court to continue with medication-assisted treatment at least until they are no longer under the supervision of the criminal justice system.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Tom, will you please email me. I want to tell you about something related to your post.
I am all for whatever it takes to keep people from using opiates. Keven is currently using Naltrexone as part of the rehab he’s in but he prefers Suboxone (they don’t allow it).
Will you please work with me?
I am looking for ways to change laws. I have founded a nonprofit before and am considering again. This time for opiate addiction.
Msjo101 or onemadmother2011@wordpress
My brothers have been in and out of prison since child hood and I never understood why they kept repeating the same thing over and over again. This time I decided to take part in a treatment program with one of my brothers as a prerequisite for his release. I learned that an addiction is a disease and if they do not obtain the right treatment and stay in front of their issues and addiction they will all ways have this problem and will almost always revert to criminal activity to support their addiction. I will stop staying habit and truthfully admit that it is a sickness and s disease. Incarcerating them is not helping it only prolong the problem without a solution. My brother just returned to jail possibly prison for committing a crime to support that addiction. They did a stronger support base to help the thought this ailment and prison/jail is not the solution. How can I get him the right help?
Hi Beverly –I am sorry to hear what your family has been going through. I see it all the time, and it still makes me really sad and angry. It’s not right. Addiction can really destroy lives. So can how we as a society respond to addiction. I’m glad you are learning about addiction and recovery. If your brother is addicted to heroin or other opiates, and relapse to opiate use is what is landing him back in jail over and over, I would be thinking about medication-assisted treatment with methadone or Suboxone. People who are addicted to opiates are much more likely to complete probation/parole if they are in medication-assisted treatment. Unfortunately, the criminal justice system will often re-incarcerate someone for a simple relapse. The person is back in jail before they even have had a realistic opportunity to stabilize in recovery. Medication helps people stabilize more quickly and prevents relapse. Medication-assisted treatment combined with long term residential treatment/sober housing is an especially powerful combination (but also hard to find). My best to you, your brothers and the rest of your family. Tom