A joint response to the government’s inquiry into tackling drugs in prisons has underlined the harms in current drugs policy, including the use of mandatory testing. It also highlights that despite attention paid to drones taking illicit items over prison walls, staff and new prisoners remain the primary method of drugs entering the prison estate.
An estimated 15% of people develop a drug dependency whilst in prison, and between 2008 – 2019 at least 145 people died drug-related deaths in prison. With the prison population set to potentially rise by 22% in the next three years to above 105,000, more people will inevitably be exposed to the harms of the prison environment and die.
At the beginning of the year, several news outlets reported on the increasing use of drones to deliver drugs into prison, causing widespread panic across the prison and NGO sector. The HM Inspector of Prisons, Charlie Taylor, declared it his ‘number one concern’, and the Justice Committee opened an inquiry into tackling drugs in prison soon after.
INQUEST, Release and Manchester Metropolitan University’s research group Drugs, Policy and Social Change collaborated on a joint submission to the inquiry that underscored the urgent need to reduce the criminalisation of drugs and for an approach rooted in harm reduction: a strategy that aims to minimise the negative effects of drug use through equipping people who use drugs with specialist drug, health and social services.
Imprisonment itself is a key driver for drug use, as drugs provide a relief to boredom through escapism in a context where the majority of people are locked in cells for 23 hours a day. The lack of time out of cells is not only a shocking indictment of the prison system, but could also be argued to breach people’s human rights to freedom of torture, inhuman treatment and punishment.
The introduction of Mandatory Drug Tests (MDTs) in prison has significantly changed patterns of drug use. In the last decade, more and more people have switched from traditional drugs such as cannabis to synthetic cannabinoids and other drugs such as heroin, as these are less likely to be detected by MDTs.
Synthetic cannabinoids are more harmful than cannabis, with prison staff and prisoners noting that it was possible to quickly build up tolerance and become dependent. They have also been linked to self-harm, seizures and synthetic cannabinoid-induced psychosis.
Considering how current drug testing policy has resulted in shifts to more harmful substances to avoid detection, the submission recommends the removal of MDTs to ensure the wellbeing of people in prison.
The submission also debunks dominant narratives concerning the entry of drugs into prison. Despite the magnified focus on drones, the most common routes remain via prison staff and new prisoners, especially those serving short sentences on licence recall. The emphasis on supply routes results in the development of new technologies and measures to prevent the entry of drugs in prison, such as sniffer dogs and body scanners, all of which have ultimately failed.
More generally, a punitive approach to drug taking inside and out of prisons has been found to severely impact on people’s wellbeing, and in the worst-case scenario – lead to death. Drug law enforcement has had little impact on the drug market. On the contrary, it has successfully contributed to more people being imprisoned for drugs offences, and the higher the prison population, the greater the market size.
Prisons’ zero-tolerance approach to drugs can lead to people experiencing severe withdrawal symptoms on arrival as well as a rapid decrease in drug tolerance which increases the risk of fatal overdose on release. Natasha Chin was a 39 year old woman with alcohol and drug dependencies. She entered prison in 2016 suffering from serious withdrawal symptoms. After vomiting for nine hours, she was found unresponsive in her cell less than 36 hours after being imprisoned.
The submission also explores the impact of short sentences in particular, as dependency on drugs is greater for those serving these sentences. Short sentences uproot people from drug treatment services in the community and worsen prospects for drug treatment post release, leaving people exposed. The wealth of evidence points to the need to end punitive measures towards drugs and instead implement harm reduction strategies in and out of prisons.
Rather than continuing to make small-scale reforms, the submission sets out the sweeping changes required to truly make a meaningful step towards ending drug-related harm in prison. These include:
- Transformative justice
Imprisonment is ineffective in reducing crime and instead perpetuates harm and violence, with marginalised people worst affected. Since prisons can induce and exacerbate drug dependency, it is imperative to redirect investment from the criminal justice system to services in the community including specialist drug and alcohol services.
- Prison conditions
Prolonged periods of isolation coupled with a lack of purposeful activity are driving people to use drugs, all of which severely impact on people’s mental and physical health. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the prison population to reduce harm. This can be achieved through abolishing short custodial sentences for possession of drugs and putting an end to prolonged periods of isolation in prison.
- Harm reduction support in prisons
People in prison should have equivalency of care to those in the community and therefore they should have access to opioid substitution treatment and needle and syringe provision. MDTs should also be abolished in recognition of the perverse conditions they create resulting in people often moving to using other, undetectable substances which may cause more harm.
- Reducing criminalisation of drugs outside of prison
Decriminalisation of drug possession offences has been implemented in approximately 30 countries and the evidence is clear: these legal frameworks do not lead to an increase in drug use or drug supply. Rather, when implemented with investment in treatment and harm reduction, decriminalisation can secure better health, social and economic outcomes, including reduced rates of (re)offending.
The full submission is available to read online.
