Methadone Maintenance for Prisoners (MMP)

This five-year study examines the benefits of methadone maintenance treatment initiated in prison and continued in the community to male offenders who were previously, but not currently, heroin-dependent. It is anticipated that such prisoners will have more favorable outcomes in the year following release with regard to drug abuse, crime, and HIV risk behavior than either prisoners who receive counseling only or begin initiation of methadone maintenance in the community

Most prisoners with histories of pre-incarceration heroin addiction do not receive treatment while incarcerated or upon release. Effective treatment for such prisoners is urgently needed because rapid relapse typically follows release. Relapse is associated with increased risk for HIV, overdose death, criminal activity, and reincarceration. Other than three studies of methadone maintenance with short-term jail inmates, the only study of longer-term inmates who were previously, but not currently, heroin-dependent was the investigator's pilot study with pre-release inmates. Based on that pilot study, which found that initiating maintenance treatment is feasible and facilitates post-release treatment entry, the present study provides a more rigorous examination of this unique treatment approach.

Counseling and methadone maintenance in prison, with opportunity to continue that treatment upon release

Inclusion Criteria: Heroin dependence in the year prior to current incarceration 3-6 months left to serve in prison-male pre-release inmate suitability for methadone maintenance as determined by medical evaluation Willingness to enroll in methadone maintenance Having a Baltimore address Exclusion Criteria: Pending parole hearing Pending charges Kidney failure Liver failure

Kinlock TW, Schwartz RP, Gordon MS. The significance of interagency collaboration in developing opioid agonist programs for inmates. Corrections Compendium 30(3)6-9,28-30,2005.

Kinlock TW, Gordon MS, Schwartz RP, O'Grady K, Fitzgerald TT, Wilson M. A randomized clinical trial of methadone maintenance for prisoners: results at 1-month post-release. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2007 Dec 1;91(2-3):220-7. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2007.05.022. Epub 2007 Jul 12.

Kinlock TW, Gordon MS, Schwartz RP, O'Grady KE. A Study of Methadone Maintenance For Male Prisoners: 3-Month Postrelease Outcomes. Crim Justice Behav. 2008;35(1):34-47. doi: 10.1177/0093854807309111.

Gordon MS, Kinlock TW, Schwartz RP, O'Grady KE. A randomized clinical trial of methadone maintenance for prisoners: findings at 6 months post-release. Addiction. 2008 Aug;103(8):1333-42. doi: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2008.002238.x.

Kinlock TW, Gordon MS, Schwartz RP, Fitzgerald TT, O'Grady KE. A randomized clinical trial of methadone maintenance for prisoners: results at 12 months postrelease. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2009 Oct;37(3):277-85. doi: 10.1016/j.jsat.2009.03.002. Epub 2009 Mar 31.

Wilson ME, Kinlock TW, Gordon MS, O'Grady KE, Schwartz RP. Postprison release HIV-risk behaviors in a randomized trial of methadone treatment for prisoners. Am J Addict. 2012 Sep-Oct;21(5):476-87. doi: 10.1111/j.1521-0391.2012.00250.x.

Kinlock TW, Gordon MS, Schwartz RP, O'Grady KE. Individual Patient and Program Factors Related to Prison and Community Treatment Completion in Prison-Initiated Methadone Maintenance Treatment. J Offender Rehabil. 2013 Oct;52(8):509-528. doi: 10.1080/10509674.2013.782936.