Addiction treatment in prison is a crucial part of solving the opioid crisis

Two decades into an opioid crisis that has claimed more than 1 million American lives, policymakers are still searching for ways to reduce overdose deaths. They would do well to focus on jails and prisons.

There are 4,000 correctional facilities in the U.S., of which only a few dozen operate on-site opioid treatment programs. On any given day, there are almost 2 million incarcerated, about 15 percent of whom meet screening criteria for opioid use disorder. For many, incarcerat...