UNM research shows methadone, other substance use disorder treatments in jails reduces recidivism

Departmental News

Posted: September 26, 2024

If you provide methadone treatment or other substance use disorder treatments in jails, will it reduce people from going back to jail? Several University of New Mexico researchers say yes.

Brady Horn, a professor in the Department of Economics, and Paul Guerin, the director of the Center for Applied Research and Analysis (CARA) at the Institute for Social Research (ISR), studied a program within Bernalillo County's Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) that provides methadone treatment in their jail. The program supplies methadone, a safe replacement for opioids, so inmates can start or continue treatment while behind bars. Read more.