In Evangeline and St. Landry parishes Louisiana sheriffs have made addiction treatment part of their jail operations.
They hired counselors and set aside opioid settlement money so people leaving jail can move into treatment, instead of cycling back through the system.
Both sheriffs describe jails where substance use disorders shape daily life. They also see the limits of punishment alone.
What Deputies Find in Evangeline
Sheriff Charles Guillory of Evangeline Parish regularly sees improvised ways to get high inside in jail. Inmates tear pages from Bibles to roll cigarettes soaked in cleaning chemicals, and mixed with synthetic marijuana. Some smoke sawdust after mixing it with chemicals.
Deputies also recovered a makeshift device built from a magnet two AA batteries and a staple. Inmates rigged it to create a spark and light up.
Guillory has taken a different approach. His office now offers counseling inside the jail, and treats addiction as an explicit priority as drug related incarcerations increase.
St. Landry Plans Beyond the Jail
St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz puts the scale of the problem into numbers. He estimates that 75 to 80 percent or more of his inmates have opioid addiction.
His office has set aside about $300,000 in opioid settlement funds. The parish expects to receive roughly $180,000 each year for about 17 years.
So far the parish has used the money to fund about a year of counseling with a counselor from neighboring Vermilion Parish. Guidroz wants to add more classes inside the jail. He also has a bigger plan.
The parish wants to buy property and build a counseling center that could serve people who have never been arrested. That would give the area more treatment capacity outside the jail as well.
Why Jails See So Much Addiction
National data show that a large share of people in jail meet criteria for a substance use disorder. Opioid addiction also appears frequently among people arrested on drug related charges.
Rural communities face additional hurdles. Treatment options can be scarce and providers may sit miles away. Local jails also see working adults from industries such as trucking oilfield services healthcare and shift work. Workplace injuries and years of prescription painkiller use can contribute to opioid dependence.
K2 Isn’t Marijuana
Guillory’s inventory highlights another substance that families should recognize. Synthetic marijuana often sold as K2 or Spice consists of plant material sprayed with lab made chemicals that act on some of the same brain receptors as THC.
Manufacturers can change those chemicals from one batch to another. The result can include severe agitation hallucinations seizures and dangerous increases in heart rate and blood pressure. Fentanyl contamination can add another serious risk.
Finding Treatment in Acadiana
Jail counseling gives families in Acadiana one option but it isn’t the only one. Louisiana has opioid treatment programs, medication assisted treatment providers and residential programs across the region. Opioid settlement money is also expanding access.
When you compare addiction treatment centers in Louisiana, ask about medications for opioid addiction and whether the program can address co-occurring mental health conditions. Ask what happens after discharge too because a solid plan for the transition out of treatment can make a real difference once someone leaves jail.
Call
800-681-1058
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to speak with an addiction specialist or contact SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 for free confidential referrals. You can also search Addiction.com’s directory to find rehab centers in your area.
