In prison, one in four prisoners smokes cannabis daily

According to a survey by the French Observatory of Drugs and Addictive Tendencies, the psychoactive substances most consumed daily in prison are tobacco, cannabis and alcohol.

The use of cannabis is widespread in prison. One in four prisoners say they smoke it daily, study reveals (link in PDF) of the French Observatory of Drugs and Addictive Tendencies (OFDT) published Monday May 6. This first representative survey on the scale of France was carried out from April to June 2023, on a sample of 1,094 men detained for more than three months and aged at least 18 years, representative of the prison population.

The inmates responded about their use of seven psychoactive substances: tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, crack, MDMA and heroin. “It’s not really a surprise, previous studies already showed that there was tobacco and cannabis consumption. The question was how, how much”explains Stanislas Spilka, head of the OFDT data unit, to AFP.

Prison is not a “place of initiation”

In descending order, the psychoactive substances most consumed daily in prison are tobacco, cannabis and alcohol, while it is tobacco, alcohol and cannabis in the general population. “Half of detainees (49%) say they have already used cannabis during their detention, regardless of the actual duration of their detention”, details the investigation. Concerning the frequency of use, 39% of prisoners consume cannabis at least once a month, 34% at least once a week and 26% on a daily basis.

Use of cocaine, crack, MDMA or heroin, however, is lower: 14% of prisoners say they have used one of these four substances at least once during their detention. A large majority of these prisoners already declared significant consumption before their incarceration. “We realize with the results of this study that prison is neither a place of initiation nor a place for arrest, with consumption higher than in the general population. This calls for an intensification of consultations in addiction”recommends Guillaume Airagnes.

Alcohol is the third most consumed drug in prison: 16% of prisoners say they have already used it at least once. “The size of alcohol bottles and their indivisibility is an argument frequently mentioned by prisoners to explain the lesser circulation of this product compared to cannabis”, point out the authors, who recall the means used by prisoners to introduce prohibited goods into prison. They mention projections by third parties above the prison walls inside the exercise yards, deliveries by drones, transmission by a visitor in the visiting room or by mail, or by a prison worker in general. against financial remuneration.