Loopholes in the Prison System: Root Cause of Prevalence of Substance Abuse - Research Paper Example

Loopholes in the Prison System: Root Cause of Prevalence of Substance Abuse Introduction Substance abuse is one of the major evils of the society. People who are addicted to substances develop a violent and aggressive behavior pattern. Hence, the addiction not only destroys their personal relationships, but also destroys their social lives. It has been found that substance abuse is one of the major reasons behind crimes because most of the people who are put in jail are addicted to substances (Carlson and Garrett 23). Even though substance abuse cannot be considered as the only reason behind the crimes, it certainly makes a person vulnerable to uncontrolled behavior and aggression (Carlson and Garrett 23). It was considered that the problem of substance abuse can be solved by putting people addicted to substances abuse in jail or prison, and making them undergo rehabilitation. Sadly, instead of working as rehabilitation centers, jails and prisons have become the potential places for indulgence in substance abuse. The root cause of substance abuse is not the lack of rehabilitative programs in jails and prisons but the loopholes that make drugs available in jails and prisons. Hence, if prevalence of substance abuse in jails and prisons is to be reduced, then immediate and important steps are needed to be taken to recognize and remove the sources from which illegal substances become available to the inmates, as these sources are the root cause of the substance abuse in jails and prisons. Prevalence of substance abuse Substance abuse is one of the major problems in jails and prisons. According to the report by The National Centre on Addiction and Substance Abuse, generated in mid-1990, 80% of prisoners in Illinois were involved in drugs and alcohol, (Carlson and Garrett 23). 68% of jail inmates throughout the country were found to be suffering from addiction to drugs and alcohol, as per the report generated in 2004 (Carlson and Garrett 23). This shows that even though the rate of substance abuse shows a decreasing trend, it is still prevalent in jails. The condition of substance abuse prevalence in prisons is worse than in jails. It has been found that there is a vast difference in the rate of prevalence of substance abuse in prison compared to the rate of prevalence of substance abuse in the general population (Peter and Steinberg 90). While addiction to alcohol is found prevalent in 5.6% of general population, it is 26% in prison population (Peter and Steinberg 90). Similarly, 56% of prison population was found to be suffering from addiction to drugs while only 7.6% of general population was found addicted to drugs (Peter and Steinberg 90). According to report by Robins and Regier (1991), addiction to alcohol is prevalent in 25% of prison inmates but drug addiction is prevalent in majority of the prisoners (Peter and Steinberg 91). These figures show a grim reality about the negative effects the substance abuse is having on the society. The unfortunate thing is that substance abuse not only affects people physically, but also affects them negatively on the psychological and the emotional level. The root of the problem Research by Wexler and Lipton (1993) has revealed that people who use drugs have more chances of committing crimes than people who do not use drugs (Peter and Steinberg 90). An interesting study by the US Department of Justice (1992) has found that the criminal behavior pattern in people who are addicted to substance abuse reduces with the reduction in addiction level, after going through the treatment (Peter and Steinberg 90). The same study has also found that when people are under the influence of drugs or alcohol, they lose control over their behavior and hence, most of the crimes are committed in the state of intoxication (Peter and Steinberg 90). In a study of Texas Prison System, Peters et al. (1998) found that 54% of the inmates were suffering from lifetime prevalence of alcohol abuse and dependence disorder while 58% of the inmates were suffering from lifetime prevalence of drug abuse or drug dependence disorder (Peter and Steinberg 91). This shows that the number of inmates suffering from diagnosable substance abuse is large and hence, increases the chances of inmates trying to continue with substance abuse in the jails and prisons also. Moreover, the inmates are found to be more addicted to drugs like heroin and cocaine which are well known for creating severe health problems and criminal behavior pattern in a person (Ruiz and Strain 882).Sadly, severe addiction to substances like drugs and alcohol makes the inmates to find different methods of making substance available in jails and prisons. The loopholes A study by Trabut (2000) has revealed that it is since late 1970’s that the use of illegal drugs in jails and prisons is prevalent (World Health Organization 43). Needle sharing was the most popular method of abusing drugs among the inmates (WHO 43). Compared to the quality of the drugs found being used in the general population, the quality of drugs and substances used in the prisons is poor (WHO 43). However, the use of drugs has not stopped in the jails and prisons. In fact, there has been a continuous rise in the number of inmates using drugs in prisons (WHO 24). Heroin is the most preferred drug among the inmates and it is injected intravenously (WHO 24). The studies have revealed that drugs are being used on regular basis by at least 20% of the prison inmates despite of drugs being prohibited in the jails and prisons (WHO 24). This shows that there are many loopholes that are responsible for the drugs being available in the prisons. The organized drug trafficking network helps the inmates in jails and prisons to get access to the drugs (WHO 43). Because of the large number of inmates addicted to drugs, the demand for drugs and substances in the jails and prisons is very high (WHO 25). The high demand of drugs and substances in prison has given rise to a black market through which illegal drugs are supplied to the inmates (WHO 25). The prices of drugs supplied in prisons and jails very high in the ‘market’ as the suppliers have to supply drugs by passing the strictly controlled environments (WHO 25). Moreover, most of the transactions in jails and prisons take place by using drugs as ‘currency’ for those transactions (WHO 25). However, the dependence of drugs and its shortage in prison makes the inmates to access drugs by using means like theft, violence and extortion, and this has increased the crimes among all inmates (WHO 25). Also, prisoners who go on leave are threatened by fellow inmates and are blackmailed to smuggle the drugs inside the prison (WHO 25). Hence, the number of crimes related to drugs has increased inside the jails and prisons (WHO 25). Moreover, the use of drugs under prohibited conditions results in consumption of poor quality drugs and that too, under unhygienic conditions as needle sharing is a common practice for injecting drugs (WHO 25). Hence, prevalence of substance abuse in prison is not only reducing the chances of rehabilitation of inmates, but is also increasing their health risks. The unhygienic methods of drug consumption and the poor quality of drugs are increasing the risks of development of communicable diseases like HIV, and infections like hepatitis B and C, among the inmates (WHO 26). The needles for injecting drugs are not only used repeatedly but are also shared with other inmates, which increasing the chances of infections in inmates with “no or insufficient disinfection” (WHO 26). It has been found that 80% of the inmates who use injection method of drugs are suffering from infections (WHO 26). Moreover, the unsafe method of drug consumption also increases the risk of staff members and inmates who do not use drugs, getting infected (WHO 26). This is also because in order to hide from the authorities, inmates gather in large number in confined spaces, which increases the chances of transmitting the infection to inmates and staff members who come in contact with them (WHO 26). This shows that prevalence of substance abuse is not only proving dangerous to the health of inmates who abuse drugs and other substances, but is also putting the life of inmates and staff members who do not use drugs, in danger. Hence, the justice department needs to find a solution to protect the inmates who are not addicted to substance abuse from the threat, violence and blackmail from those inmates who are addicted to substance abuse. Conclusion The literature review has shown that instead of reducing the prevalence of substance dependence and abuse, the prohibition of illegal substance in the jails and prisons have given rise to serious health problems and increase in criminal activities among the inmates. The reason is the severe nature of the addiction to different substances and the loopholes in the establishments of the jails and prisons. Hence, it is highly important to identifying the loopholes in the system and take immediate actions to remove them, as the prevalence of substance abuse is creating obstacles in jails and prisons achieving its goals, which is to rehabilitate the inmates and make them fit to return to the normal society. Works Cited Carlson, Peter, and Judith Garrett. Prison and Jail Administration: Practice and Theory. 2nd ed. Sudbury: Jones & Bartlett Publishers, 2008. Print. Peter, Rogers, and Marc Steinberg. Drug Use and Prisons: An International Perspective. Ed. David Shewan and John Davies. Amsterdam: Harwood Academic Publishers, 2000. Print. Ruiz, Pedro, and Eric Strain. Lowinson and Ruiz’s Substance Abuse: A Comprehensive Textbook. 5th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2011. Print. World Health Organization. Prisons, Drugs and Society. Strasbourg: Council of Europe Publishing, 2002. Print. Read More