Dodge County Sheriff’s Department Participates In Narcan Education Program

The battle to reduce the incidents of drug overdose is ongoing. In an effort to stem the tide, the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office will be participating in a program in partnership with the Badger State Sheriff’s Association (BSSA) called the Jail Inmate Narcan Education Program.  

The purpose of the program is to reduce the number of overdose deaths among individuals being released from custody by providing education on overdose identification and community service options, as well as training the public and those incarcerated on the use of Narcan.  

What this ultimately means is upon release from jail, an inmate battling addiction, or their family, may be provided a free dose of Narcan at their request after receiving the proper training on its use.  

The Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates that 63% of all individuals incarcerated in a county jail suffer from some type of substance use disorder.  People being released from jail are also at a high risk of overdose-related death.  

A North Carolina study revealed that people who were formerly incarcerated were forty (40) times more at risk of death from a drug-related overdose in the first two (2) weeks after release from Jail.  The reason for this is that during their time in jail they obviously do not use narcotic drugs and their tolerance for narcotic drugs reduces dramatically.

In the spirit of saving lives and serving the community, the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office is happy to participate in this proactive educational program while also providing the resources to obtain treatment in the community.  

A press release issued Wednesday (5/18/2022) said Sheriff Dale Schmidt has long been an advocate for a 3-pronged approach to dealing with the drug epidemic in our communities.  

That 3-pronged approach includes treatment for drug-dependent individuals, education of the community and enforcement of our laws.  This program touches on all three of these areas as the individual is being held accountable for criminal activity in our jail, education is being provided on narcotics to both the individual and their family, and finally, we are providing treatment options to these individuals should they choose to accept that help when they are released.  

The program is just one of the many initiatives the sheriff’s office participates in as the community, the state and the country continue to battle opioid and other drug addictions each day.