North Dakota Jail’s Opioid Treatment Program Cuts Overdose Deaths by 55%

A correctional facility in Minot is proving that medically supervised opioid treatment behind bars doesn’t just help inmates, it saves lives in the broader community.

When people think about access to medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder, they rarely picture a county jail. But Ward County Detention Center in Minot, North Dakota, is changing that assumption — and the results from its first full year of operation are hard to ignore.

The facility’s Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) program administered an estimated 6,551 doses of medication to 148 individuals across 241 separate jail stays in 2025. Overdose calls in Minot dropped from 74 in 2024 to 33 in 2025, a 55.4% decrease that program officials attribute in part to coordinated, community-wide treatment efforts.

Why Medical Detox in Correctional Settings Matters

Jails and prisons have historically been among the most dangerous places for people with opioid use disorder. Incarceration forces abrupt withdrawal without medical management, dramatically lowering a person’s opioid tolerance.

When individuals are released, even after a short stay, their risk of fatal overdose spikes sharply because they often return to previous use levels with a body that can no longer tolerate those doses.

That’s what makes medically managed withdrawal and ongoing MAT so critical in correctional settings. The Ward County program addresses this directly by screening all new inmates for opioid dependence and continuing medications for those already enrolled in treatment on the outside.

This continuity of care is the cornerstone of evidence-based opioid detox. Interrupting treatment is not a neutral act, it’s a medical risk.

What the Ward County MOUD Program Does

The program was developed by the Ward County Drug Task Force and funded through opioid lawsuit settlement funds from both Ward County and the City of Minot, supplemented by a state grant and Substance Use Disorder vouchers.

That funding structure is itself a model worth noting: settlement money from opioid litigation being reinvested directly into treatment access.

Of the 148 individuals treated in the program’s first year, 60 were newly started on medications during incarceration, while 88 were continuing treatment they had already established.

The program also connected participants with peer support specialists and harm reduction education, tools that research consistently shows improve treatment retention and reduce relapse after release.

Ward County had ranked among the top five counties in North Dakota for overdose death rates from 2019 to 2023. That trend is now reversing.

Understanding Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD)

MOUD, also called medication-assisted treatment, or MAT, refers to the use of FDA-approved medications to manage opioid withdrawal and support long-term recovery. The three primary medications are:

Methadone is a long-acting opioid agonist that reduces cravings and withdrawal symptoms. It must be dispensed through certified opioid treatment programs (OTPs).

Buprenorphine (Suboxone) is a partial opioid agonist that blunts withdrawal and cravings with a lower overdose risk than methadone. It can be prescribed in office-based settings and, since recent regulatory updates, without a special waiver.

Naltrexone (Vivitrol) is an opioid antagonist that blocks the effects of opioids entirely. It requires full detox before initiation but is non-addictive and available in a monthly injectable form.

All three have strong evidence bases. None are “substituting one drug for another,” a persistent and harmful myth. They are medical treatments for a medical condition.

The Ward County program functions as an essential bridge: a medically supervised entry point that connects people to community-based care upon release, preventing the deadly gap that typically follows incarceration.

Finding Medical Detox for Opioid Use Disorder

If you or someone you love is dependent on opioids, medically supervised detox is the safest and most effective path to recovery. Attempting to stop opioids without support is not only difficult, the risk of relapse and overdose is highest in the days immediately following unmanaged withdrawal.

Search detox.com’s list of medically supervised detox programs in your area. You can also call 800-996-6135(Sponsored) to get immediate assistance.