| Hans-Günter Meyer-Thompson | Substitution in Haft
USA. Breaking the Cycle: Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) in the Criminal Justice System
USA. Breaking the Cycle: Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) in the Criminal Justice System
For persons with an opioid use disorder who are in the criminal justice system, the process of transitioning from jail or prison back to the community can be overwhelming. Within three months of release from custody, 75 percent of people who were in prison or jail with an opioid use disorder experience a relapse to opioid use. It is also alarming that incarcerated persons who are released to the community are between 10 and 40 times more likely to die of an opioid overdose than the general American population—especially within a few weeks after reentering society. (SAMHSA, USA, 15.03.2019)