Drugs and prisoners: Treatment needs on entering prison

An interview study was conducted among a group of incoming prisoners in a c ounty jail in Ohio during the summers of 1997 and 1998 to assess their curr ent drug treatment needs. "Incoming prisoners" refers to individuals who we re being transferred from this county jail to the state prison system. Mari juana and cocaine were the most commonly tried illegal drugs among the subj ects as well as the drugs of choice during the month prior to imprisonment. The Diagnostic Interview Schedule, combined with questions employed in the Drug Use Forecasting (DUF) project, was used to construct the questionnair e for this study. Based on the criteria of DSM-IV diagnoses, 57.5% of those interviewed had exhibited drug dependency at some point in their lives, an d 51% were currently dependent on some substance. Thus, more than half of t he incoming prisoners were in need of treatment for use of at least one sub stance. Cocaine dependence was the greatest problem facing this group of in mates, with an especially notable problem among the older females. Younger males were more likely to have current marijuana dependence. The study foun d that individuals currently dependent on cocaine or opiates perceived that they had a need for drug treatment, while those currently dependent on mar ijuana did not share this perception.