Researchers analyzed data from 1998 to 2015 on 14,530 people with criminal convictions who had been prescribed methadone in British Columbia. They found offenders were five times less likely to die from infectious diseases and nearly three times less likely to die from overdoses during periods when they were dispensed methadone, even after controlling for socio-demographic, criminological, and health-related factors. The study’s results may not apply to jurisdictions without universal healthcare or to non-offender populations.
Published July 31, 2018 (News release from PLOS)
Lead author: Angela Russolillo, Simon Fraser University – arussoli@sfu.ca
