What are the levels of drug use in prison?

Issues

Verian produced the ESSPRI survey (Enquête sur la santé et les substances en prison), which was developed by OFDT(Observatoire français des drogues et des tendances addictives).

The use of drugs in prison is well known: tobacco, medicines diverted from their intended use, alcohol (prohibited in prison), cannabis, cocaine, crack, etc.

Studies have already been carried out to give an indication of drug consumption levels in prisons. But these studies have provided only fragmentary results, either restricted to pre-prison use or limited geographically.

What's more, carrying out a survey in prison presents methodological difficulties, as interviewers have to conform to a highly organized universe whose codes they are unfamiliar with.

Approach

This is a public statistics survey estimating drug use during detention, the first to be nationally representative.

It estimates the prevalence of use of seven psychoactive substances among inmates: tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, crack, MDMA (or ecstasy) and heroin.

The survey is based on a random sample of 1,094 male inmates incarcerated in 30 randomly selected prisons in France.

The survey ran from April 24, 2023 to June 29, 2023. Of the 2,400 people selected at random, 1,094 questionnaires were usable, representing a response rate of 45.6%.

Results

The initial results confirm and, above all, objectify a reality known to those working in the field, public authorities and researchers alike: drug use in prisons is high.

The prevalence of tobacco consumption is 2.5 times higher than for men on the outside: 63% of inmates smoke daily.

The prevalence of cannabis use is 10 times higher than outside: 26% of inmates smoke cannabis daily. This high level of use reflects a continuity of use pre-dating incarceration, and is often linked to self-therapeutic motivations (to be able to sleep, to calm down).

Alcohol use is lower, reflecting greater difficulties in obtaining supplies.

The other substances studied (cocaine, crack, MDMA, heroin) are used less, but still at high levels. For example, 13% of inmates have used cocaine at least once in prison.