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Audit To Focus On NM Jail's Methadone Program

Officials at New Mexico's largest county jail have launched an audit into what consequences could come from not offering methadone to heroin-addicted inmates.

The audit at the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center came a week after the jail had announced it would stop giving the synthetic opioid to inmates.

The jail's chief, Ramon Rustin, said he would sit down with lawyers and doctors in the coming weeks to determine the program's effectiveness and if there are any legal or medical risks associated with the shift.

Inmates in the methadone program will continue to receive their full dosages until the audit is completed.

The audit will examine whether some inmates, specifically pregnant ones, could be sent elsewhere for treatment rather than to jail.

Information from: Albuquerque Journal.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.