Journal
PUBLIC HEALTH
Volume 124, Issue 11, Pages 637-639Publisher
W B SAUNDERS CO LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2010.08.012
Keywords
Prisons; Drug-related mortality; Prevention; WHO report
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The rate of acute drug-related mortality, or overdose deaths, among prisoners in the immediate post-release period is unacceptably high. Such incidents result from many factors, including decreased tolerance after a period of relative abstinence during imprisonment and the concurrent use of multiple drugs which, with every additional illicit drug consumed in combination with opioids, nearly doubles the risk of death from opioids. Other important factors are the lack of pre-release counselling, post-release follow-up and failure to identify those at risk. Substance dependence is a chronic disorder with high relapse rates and often requires long-term continuous treatment. The deaths are preventable and a number of interventions including opioid substitution treatment reduces the risk of overdose among opioid users after release. (C) 2010 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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