Dr. Sean Benedict of Wellspace of Sacramento, and he talked with Cristina about the drug Vivitrol, how it works, why it works and why its not used more widely for opioid addiction.
"Griff" was a twenty-year heroin addict. He found out about Vivitrol in the Sacramento County Jail and signed up for the program, however, he says the medicine alone can't cure him. He said its the emotional work you must do to alleviate the issues that made you turn to opioids in the first place.
Lt. Brad Rose from the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department works at RCCC (the Sacramento County Jail). He oversees the re-entry program for inmates that combines counseling, job skills and treatment with Vivitrol to help opioid addicted inmates build a bridge of sobriety and skill to hopefully keep them on the right side of the law and the put their lives back together.