According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) is ” the use of medications, in combination with counseling and behavioral therapies, to provide a whole-patient approach to the treatment of substance use disorders.” Some of the medications used to treat addiction are Buprenorphine, Methadone, and Naltrexone. Research has shown that those that use MAT when entering into Recovery have a much greater chance of maintaining their sobriety. However, MAT is underutilized in treating addiction at this time.

Those who have been incarcerated have disproportionately higher rates of addiction to heroin than the rest of the population. Because little to no substance use treatment is provided to those incarcerated, once released, they quickly go back to using heroin or other substances. This places them at a much higher risk of overdose and death after being released from prison. Also, it has been found that using MAT services within the prison has shown to reduce the use of heroin while incarcerated. This could lead to lower crime rates in the prison and better behavior amongst those with substance use disorders.

References:
Gordon, M. S., Kinlock, T. W., & Miller, P. M. (2011). Medication-assisted treatment research with criminal justice populations: challenges of implementation. Behavioral sciences & the law, 29(6), 829–845. doi:10.1002/bsl.1015

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2019, May 7). Medication and Counseling Treatment. Retrieved from https://www.samhsa.gov/medication-assisted-treatment/treatment#medications-used-in-mat