Divisions over addict prison injections
US prisons are experimenting with a high-priced monthly injection that could help addicted inmates stay off opioids after they are released, but skeptics question its effectiveness and say the manufacturer has aggressively marketed an unproven drug to corrections officials.
A single shot of Vivitrol, given in the buttocks, lasts for four weeks and eliminates the need for the daily doses common with alternatives such as methadone. But each shot costs as much as $1,000, and because the drug has a limited track record, experts do not agree on how well it works.
Proponents say Vivitrol could save money compared with the cost of locking up a drug offender - about $25,000 a year for each inmate at the Sheridan Correctional Center, 110 kilometers southwest of Chicago.
