Plenty of inmates all around the world have problems with drug abuse. It is a fact known widely and a delicate issue which has been debated by officials.
A New Program in Chicago Jails
Chicago jails will now give inmates to be released an overdose-reversing drug in order to help addicts and their families cope with the addiction and maybe even seek help. This naloxone antidote will try and become a solution for the drug epidemic worldwide. Los Angeles is soon to follow the same steps.
Cook County Jail Trains Inmates
In Chicago, the Cook Country Jain trains their 900 inmates how to use the nasal spray device containing naloxone. So far, 400 nasal sprays have been distributed to both male and female inmates before their release.
According to Sherrif Tom Dart, the first two weeks and inmates spends in freedom are crucial because it is the period of time in which most addicts overdose.
The chair of Correctional health, Dr. Mennella is the head of this new program and she firmly believes that not only the inmates but also their families should be trained on how to use the nasal spray. Dr. Connie Mennella and proponents of the program firmly believe that the use of this nasal spray could save and ex-inmate from a life and death situation. A follower of this idea is also Dr. Arastou Aminzadeh from the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.
Results Of The Program So Far
Since 2014, in New York, over 4,000 nasal spray kits have been given to inmates and their families at Rikers Island city jail. Afterward, a survey was made official and in only six months they found that 50 usages of naloxone helped 87 % of the victims to survive.