Due to multiple factors, unprecedented numbers of individuals with mental health disorders and many with comorbid substance use disorders are now incarcerated in jails and prisons. This article details a variety of medication use and potential abuse/misuse/misadventuring topics that are unique to the correctional health care setting, with emphasis on how the large number of persons with psychiatric and/or substance use disorders affects these issues and methods that correctional systems commonly use to manage these inmate-patients. Also discussed are the potential for inmate feigning or malingering as a goal-directed behavior, potential for misadventuring/abuse of commonly used medications, urine drug screening/surveillance, and the effect of psychoactive medications on heat tolerance and environmental issues.
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