Drug use in prison - Results of the 2023 ESSPRI survey

Use prior to imprisonment

The vast majority of inmates who have used psychoactive substances in prison claim to have already used them considerably prior to their imprisonment. The most consumed psychoactive substances on a daily basis in prison are, in descending order: tobacco, cannabis, and alcohol, versus tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis among the general population. This results in a widespread polydrug use of tobacco and cannabis, and an almost in-existent polydrug use of tobacco and alcohol, unlike what is observed among the general population.

The issue of adjusting health policies

These results raise the question whether health policies on the prevention and treatment of addictions should be adjusted to suit the reality of the use observed. The predominance of tobacco consumption, the leading cause of preventable death among adults, calls for intensifying the actions which are already being carried out in prisons. While the issue of risky consumption practices such as injecting is still present, it is likely less significant than it was in the mid-1980s. The very high prevalence of daily use of cannabis in prison requires intensifying therapeutic care actions to treat addiction to this substance.