PRISON AS A MODIFIER OF DRUG USING BEHAVIOR

This study was intended to investigate the nature and dynamics of drug using behaviour in Scottish prisons. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with a purposive sample of 234 prisoners in four major adu lt male prisons in Scotland. Of this sample, 73% had used cannabis dur ing their current sentence, and 95% of these reported ongoing usage. T here was little evidence to suggest that people started to inject in p rison. Of this sample, 32% were injecting prior to imprisonment, and 1 1% had done so during their current sentence. Of those who were inject ing prior to imprisonment, 24% were sharing injecting equipment. Of th ose who were injecting in prison, 76% were sharing equipment. Factors most closely identified with current sharing of injecting equipment we re: having injected a wider range of drugs in prison (during both curr ent and previous sentences); frequency of Temgesic (Buprenorphine) use ; being prescribed methadone in the community, then having that prescr iption discontinued on entry to prison. Drug use in prison should be a ddressed within a harm reduction framework, and reduction based prescr ibing of oral substitute drugs should be available to prisoners with d rug problems. The basic aim of enabling people to minimise the harm wh ich results from their drug use, thereby minimising the harm which res ults to society, can be applied within prisons.