Increasingly, prison systems are working to help inmates who are addicted to opioids recover from their dependencies before sending them back to the streets. When this therapy is followed up by substance abuse treatment after they are released, it can significantly reduce the rate of recidivism.

For example, the New York State Department of Correctional Services recently announced a plan that will provide the medication suboxone to inmates who struggle with opioid addiction, according to the Times Union.

Suboxone has been shown to drastically reduce the cravings of opioid addicts and help prevent relapse. Additionally, it has been shown to reduce the spread of communicable disease by eliminating the sharing of needles among drug addicts.

Prison officials told the news source that opioid-addicted prisoners who are given suboxone are more likely to enter substance abuse treatment after they are released and to return to a normal life free of drug use. They added that it has been endorsed by the National Institute for Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Correctional Health.

Similar efforts in New Mexico have yielded positive results, according to the state's Department of Health.