A study reveals that the risk of dying from a toxic-drug overdose rose by up to 50% for individuals released from Ontario jails during the pandemic. The risk was particularly high for those who had been incarcerated or recently released. COVID-19 further exacerbated the risk for both men and women in custody. The study highlights the need for better support and intervention for individuals transitioning from jail to the community.
The risk of dying from a toxic-drug overdose increased by up to 50 per cent coinciding with the start of the pandemic for people who had been released from Ontario jails, and some who were still incarcerated, a study says. Prison cells are shown under construction in a new jail and detention centre in Zurich, Switzerland on June 9, 2021.
“The highest risk time for death is in the first two weeks after release from custody,” she said of related Ontario findings from her previous research over the same period, published in May in BMJ Open. Men who had been incarcerated were 25 times more likely to die of an overdose compared to men who were not. And women who had been incarcerated were 67 times more likely to die compared to women who were not, said Butler.
Pandemic restrictions and isolation contributed to more people in general using drugs alone, leading to a sharp rise in overdoses across the country. In October 2020, the B.C. government extended services for former inmates to 90 days from 30 days to help with housing, health care, transportation and treatment from community transition teams. Nurses and patient navigators who are Indigenous were added to the roster of social workers and peer support workers.
Angela Vos, whose 26-year-old son Jordan Sheard was found unresponsive in his jail cell in Lindsay Ont., in June 2020, said health services for inmates and those who have been released should be handled by the Health Ministry.
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