By Jr de Barbosa via Wikimedia Commons
By Marcus Serhan
(In response to the Ruby E. opinion piece, VIP Vol. 1, Issue 3)
Commentary: Is the MAT Program Achieving Its Goal in the California Prison System?
Inmates with substance abuse issues in the CDCR are prescribed Suboxone by doctors to help them stay clean and off drugs (specifically opioids, such as heroin – a major drug of choice). I have a very different opinion than that expressed in the Vol. 1, Issue 3 piece on the M.A.T. Program.
I have been on Suboxone for over a year, and because of it I have remained clean the 
entire time. I attended and completed the M.A.T. Program, and recommend it for anyone struggling with substance abuse issues. I take Suboxone every day, and because of it I don’t have cravings nor do I want to do drugs at all.
Here at Mule Creek there are hundreds of inmates taking Suboxone just as I do. In my experience, their stories are very similar to my own. Because of Suboxone inmates are programming and going to groups, learning about the effects that drugs have on our minds and bodies, learning about causative factors, criminal thinking, coping mechanisms, etc., and educating themselves in order to better themselves.
Because of Suboxone inmates aren’t doing drugs, nor posing threats to the safety & security of the institution, other inmates, or themselves.
I don’t believe it’s an abuse of taxpayer’s money. It’s a good investment. The inmates I know who have paroled that are on Suboxone are doing good outside, and contributing to their communities. They’re not posing threats or creating harm, they’re not committing crime. This is my experience, first hand. I know this because I’ve lived it.
Marcus Serhan is incarcerated at Mule Creek State Prison
