MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The state Department of Corrections has treated a handful of inmates with a medication designed to combat opioid relapses.
The Wisconsin State Journal reports the agency has treated 19 inmates with Vivitrol as part of a pilot program that began in April. The medication blocks opioid receptors in the brain and prevents people from getting high from opioids if they try to use them.
Inmates can participate if they've been in treatment for opioid addiction while in prison, are in an earned release program and are returning to a seven-county area around Green Bay. The program's goal is to treat 100 offenders over two years.
The current state budget lays out $1.7 million for the program.
