More inmates need buprenorphine, says Dane County Jail

A proposed expansion of the prison's medication-assisted treatment program for opioid use disorder would allow certain inmates to be given methadone in prison rather than outside of prison.

Medication-assisted treatment “prevents inmates from experiencing the negative effects of withdrawal while in prison and reduces the likelihood that they will return to using after they are released,” said Lt. Kelly Splinter of the Dane County Sheriff's Office.

In Wisconsin, there were 1,464 opioid overdose deaths in 2022, beating the previous record of 1,427 set in 2021. In Dane County, there were 126 opioid overdose deaths in 2022, breaking the record of 139 the previous year.

Final data for 2023 are not yet available. As of Monday, preliminary data showed there were 1,411 opioid overdose deaths in the state last year and 119 in the county.

The sheriff's office needs up to $704,000 for staff and medication to expand its opioid addiction treatment program at the jail. The department presented the proposal in June to the Opioid Settlements Subcommittee of the County Council's Health and Human Needs Committee.

In a subsequent recommendation on how to use the funds generated from the national opioid settlements in 2025, the subcommittee classified the prison proposal as a “high priority” along with other programs.

In 2013, the prison began giving some inmates injections of naltrexone or Vivitrol, another drug for opioid addiction, after their release, Captain Jan Tetzlaff said.

In April 2022, the prison, through its provider Wellpath, began administering buprenorphine, the drug contained in Suboxone, to people who were already taking it before arriving at the prison. Methadone, another addictive drug, is administered outside of the prison to pregnant women and people already taking high doses of it. Those taking low doses are switched to buprenorphine.

Last year, 115 inmates received buprenorphine in prison and 53 received Vivitrol after their release, Splinter said. So far this year, 118 people have received buprenorphine and 71 Vivitrol.

As part of the expansion, an estimated 50 patients would receive buprenorphine or methadone daily. Last year, nearly 2,900 newly admitted inmates reported some type of substance abuse, or 24% of all inmates medically evaluated, Tetzlaff said.

Dane County is spending $3.1 million this year on settlements in opioid cases, including more than $680,000 for drug court programs, nearly $650,000 for programs at Safe Communities of Madison and Dane County, $290,000 for outpatient therapy at Journey Mental Health Center and nearly $120,000 for withdrawal management at Monona-based Tellurian.

The county expects to receive more than $23 million from settlements in lawsuits against the opioid industry over an 18-year period.

The Opioid Settlement Subcommittee has proposed spending $800,000 of this year's money to open a harm reduction center in Madison for drug users. County committees are expected to consider the proposal soon.

In June, the Madison and Dane County health departments hired a consultant to study the feasibility of an overdose prevention center. Such a center would not only provide services to reduce the risk of overdose and infectious disease, but would also allow people to use drugs on-site under supervision.