PREVENTION OF ACUTE DRUG-RELATED MORTALITY IN PRISON POPULATIONS DURING THE IMMEDIATE POST-RELEASE PERIOD (WHO 2010):
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. There is good evidence from trials and cohort studies that opioid substitution treatment reduces the risk of overdose among opioid users.
