Drug Use in Prisoners: Epidemiology, Implications, and Policy Responses

In most countries, problematic drug use is dealt with primarily as a criminal justice issue, rather than a health issue. Accordingly, a large proportion of people in prison have a history of alcohol, tobacco and/or illicit drug use and, despite the best efforts of correctional authorities, some continue to use these substances in prison, often in very risky ways. After release from prison, many relapse to risky substance use, and are at high risk of poor health outcomes, preventable death, or reincarceration. In this edited volume, for the first time we bring together 40 contributors from 10 countries to review what is known about alcohol, tobacco and illicit drug use in people who cycle through prisons, and the harms associated with use of these substances. We consider some evidence-based responses to these harms - both in prison and after return to the community - and discuss their implications for policy reform. This book is international in scope and multi-disciplinary in character. It brings together and integrates the perspectives of public health and addictions researchers, criminologists and correctional leaders, epidemiologists, physicians, and human rights lawyers. Our contributors are unified in their commitment to evidence-informed policy - that is, doing what we know works. An overarching theme pervading all of the chapters is that people who cycle through prisons come from the community, and almost always return to the community. Their health problems are therefore our health problems; in other words, 'prisoner health is public health'.

Table of Contents:
Prologue Acknowledgments About the Editors Contributors Chapter 1: The 'drugs-crime nexus' Dominique de Andrade Chapter 2: The global epidemiology of drug use in prison Chloe Carpentier, Luis Royuela, Linda Montanari, Philip Davis Chapter 3: Injecting while incarcerated M-J Milloy Chapter 4: Alcohol use among incarcerated individuals David Wyatt Seal, Sarah Yancey, Manasa Reddy, Stuart A. Kinner Chapter 5: Tobacco use among prisoners Jennifer Clarke, Manasa Reddy Chapter 6: Substance use after release from prison Sarah Larney, Mark Stoové, Stuart A. Kinner Chapter 7: Drug use, HIV, and the high risk environment of prisons Lyuba Azbel, Frederick L. Altice Chapter 8: The perfect storm: Tuberculosis, substance use disorders and incarceration Haider A. Al-Darraji, Frederick L. Altice Chapter 9: Drug use in prisoners and hepatitis Rebecca J. Winter, Margaret E. Hellard Chapter 10: Drug use in prison and mental health Kate Dolan, Michael Farrell, and Sahar Saeedi Moghaddam Chapter 11: Understanding the Risk Environment Surrounding Drug Use in Prisons: The Unique Contributions of Qualitative Research Will Small, Ryan McNeil Chapter 12: Drug use and prison: The challenge of making human rights protections a reality Joanne Csete, Rick Lines, Ralf Jürgens Chapter 13: Recidivism: The impact of substance abuse on continued involvement in the justice system Faye Taxman, Mary Mun Chapter 14: Substance use and consequences among people who have been incarcerated: A public health issue Ingrid Binswanger, Andrea K. Finlay Chapter 15: Supply reduction in prison: the evidence Robert L. Trestman, Ashbel T. Wall Chapter 16: Drug treatment for prisoners: Opioid substitution treatment, therapeutic communities and cognitive behavioral therapy Kate Dolan, Zahra Alam-Mehrjerdi, Babak Moazen Chapter 17: Harm reduction in prisons Kathryn Snow, Michael Levy Chapter 18: Preventing drug-related death in recently released prisoners Julie Brummer, Lars Møller, Stefan Enggist Chapter 19: Drug use in prisoners: Epidemiology, implications, and policy responses Stuart A. Kinner, Josiah D. Rich

About the Author :
Stuart Kinner has a PhD in forensic psychology and leads a program of research on the health of people who cycle through the criminal justice system. He is Professor of Adolescent and Young Adult Health Equity at the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute in Melbourne, Australia, and Honorary Professor at the University of Melbourne, and Griffith University. Stuart also Chairs Australia's National Youth Justice Health Advisory Group, and co-Chairs the Research Committee in the US-based Academic Consortium in Criminal Justice Health.