\n\tDon Thompson<\/span><\/p>\n

SACRAMENTO, Calif. \u2014 Drug overdose deaths in California state prisons rebounded to near record levels last year even as corrections officials touted the state\u2019s intervention methods as a model for prisons and jails across the United States.<\/p>\n

At least 59 prisoners died of overdoses last year, according to a KFF Health News analysis of deaths in custody<\/a> data the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is required to report under a new state law. That\u2019s more than double the number who died of overdoses in each of 2020 (23) and 2021 (24).<\/p>\n

Prison officials would not provide the number of overdose deaths in 2022, saying they are still being analyzed for a report to be released later this year. But attorneys representing prisoners said they believe there were substantially more fatal overdoses in 2022 than in the previous two years.<\/p>\n

The new numbers are a big setback for state officials, who poured resources into overdose prevention efforts after a record 64 overdose deaths in 2019 gave California prisons the highest drug overdose death rate of any state correctional system in the United States.<\/p>\n

With nearly 94,000 state prisoners, California is one of the nation\u2019s largest providers of medication-assisted drug treatment. The prisoners\u2019 attorneys still support California\u2019s pioneering program<\/a>, saying there would be even more deaths without it.<\/p>\n

\u201cFentanyl. That\u2019s I think probably the main cause from what I hear,\u201d said Don Specter, a lead attorney in the major class-action lawsuit over poor medical care of California prisoners, referring to the synthetic opioid at the heart of the nation\u2019s overdose crisis. \u201cNothing else has really changed too much. It\u2019s very pervasive.\u201d<\/p>\n

With a lower prison population than in previous years, California\u2019s 2023 numbers represent a record high overdose death rate of at least 62 per 100,000 prisoners \u2014 and the numbers are likely to rise further as the cause of death is determined in some cases.<\/p>\n

\u201cNational data has shown an alarming increase of overdose deaths across the country, largely driven by synthetic opioids (primarily fentanyl),\u201d Ike Dodson, a spokesperson for California Correctional Health Care Services, said in an email. He added that prison officials \u201ccontinue to evaluate substance use disorder treatment to improve the safety and well-being of all who live or work in a state correctional facility, including plans to broadly expand access to Narcan,\u201d an overdose reversal device.<\/p>\n

Until now, California\u2019s increasingly comprehensive drug intervention program had been an apparent success story<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In January 2020, when the prison population was about 124,000, the state began using drugs like buprenorphine, naltrexone, and methadone to lessen drug users\u2019 cravings and the crash of withdrawal symptoms while helping them stay away from dangerous opioids. The new program\u2019s focus on medication-assisted treatment appeared to be working after deaths fell to 23 that year.<\/p>\n

The medication-assisted treatment is one of five core components of the prison system\u2019s approach: screening every arriving prisoner for substance abuse; use of medication where needed; therapy; supportive housing in prisons; and pre-release planning and post-release assistance. Officials say all five have now begun to varying degrees, at a cost of $270 million<\/a> for the fiscal year starting July 1, 2024.<\/p>\n

By 2021, the prisons\u2019 reported overdose death rate fell to 25 per 100,000, less than half the rate before the program began and well below the overall national average.<\/p>\n

There also was a nearly one-third drop in drug-related hospitalizations and emergency room visits among California prisoners receiving the medication-assisted treatment, researchers for the program said in a progress report<\/a> last year.<\/p>\n