(Ed. note: This article and those linked below
demonstrate a growing recognition that marijuana testing is counterproductive. They also
demonstrate how difficult it is for "authorities" to come to grips with such an
uncomfortable fact. The Irish Times is very prohibitionist.)See
"Mandatory
Prison Drug Testing May Have Perverse Effect" -
Discouraging Cannabis; Encouraging Hard Drugs. - London Times
and
Jails In UK To Take
Softer Line On Cannabis:
"Personal use of cannabis is not detrimental to good order and discipline".
and
Scottish Prisons To
Stay Tough On Cannabis; English Prisons To Switch Focus From Soft To Hard Drugs
From the Irish Times
By Roddy O’Sullivan
May 25, 1998
The Irish Times
11-15 D’Olier St, Dublin 2, Ireland
Fax: ++ 353 1 671 9407
REPORT SHOWS JAIL TESTS INEFFECTIVE ON HEROIN USE
Mandatory drug testing in prison is much more effective in
stopping prisoners from using cannabis than it is in ending their heroin habit, a
conference on drugs in prison heard at the weekend.
The Irish Penal Reform Trust heard a report from Mr Kimmett Edgar, a research officer
at the Oxford University Centre for Criminological Research who studied mandatory drug
testing in five prisons in England.
Under the mandatory drug testing regime introduced in all penal establishments in
England and Wales by 1996, punishments for prisoners who tested positive for drugs
included added days in prison, loss of privileged jobs, and being put on closed visits.
Mr Edgar’s study involved 148 prisoners in five prisons in England and Wales. Only
37 of the prisoners claimed they did not use drugs in prison. The study reported that over
half (52 per cent) of the remaining 111 prisoners said the increased risk of detection and
sanctions as a result of drug testing had "a substantial impact on their drug
misuse".
Thirty (27 per cent) of the prisoners who said they had formerly taken drugs in prison
claimed to have stopped completely. Some 17 said they had reduced their consumption.
However, the testing had widely varying effects on the
consumption of different drugs. While almost half (46 per cent) of those in the study who
used cannabis in prison but not heroin, said that the testing had encouraged them to stop
using cannabis, only 13 per cent of those who used heroin in custody said it had stopped
them from using the drug.
This may reflect the fact that heroin remains detectable in the body for a shorter
time than cannabis. Four prisoners said they had tried heroin for the first time and cut
down their cannabis use because of mandatory drug testing, while 11 multi-drug users
altered the balance of their drugtaking in order to increase their chances of escaping
detection.
While the punishment of more time in prison if tested positive was a factor influencing
some prisoners’ behaviour, Mr Edgar’s study found the prospect of losing
temporary release, good prison jobs and visiting privileges were more important factors
influencing prisoners’ drug-taking.
Mr Edgar cautioned that testing led to increased tension between
staff and inmates and that the punishment of more time in prison adds to the prison
population.
He also drew attention to the fact that a significantly lower
proportion of English and Welsh prisoners used heroin than was the case in some Irish
prisons.
Supported