Addiction can be fatal in San Diego County jails
Part three of ‘60 Dead Inmates’ explores substance abuse
Since March 27, CityBeat's been taking a closer look
at the 60 deaths that occurred in San Diego County jails between 2007
and 2012. Over that period, the county had the highest mortality rate of
Californiaís 10 largest jail systems. Sisson's was one of 11 deaths in
San Diego County jails in 2011. That year, only Los Angeles County
recorded more deaths—19 total—and L.A.'s jail system is triple the size
of San Diego's.
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Alcohol
withdrawal, experts say, can be deadly; cold-turkey withdrawal from
opiates, on the other hand, is rarely life-threatening, unless an addict
has an underlying medical condition—like asthma.
"Somebody
who has some other disease, where the stress of withdrawal could make
that disease worse, definitely deserves closer monitoring," says Marc
Stern, a correctional-healthcare consultant and former health services
director for the Washington State Department of Corrections. "So, if you
know somebody has asthma, and they're going to go through withdrawal,
yes, you have an obligation to monitor them more closely."
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