One in four French prisoners say they smoke marijuana daily

Cannabis use is widespread in prisons, with one in four prisoners saying they smoke it daily, according to a study by the French Observatory on Drugs and Addictions (OFDT) published Monday, the first representative prison-wide survey in France. .

The Study of Health and Substance Use in Prisons (ESSPRI) was conducted from April to June 2023 on a sample of 1,094 men incarcerated for more than three months and at least 18 years of age, who are representative of the prison population.

The prisoners reported using seven psychoactive substances: tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, crack, MDMA and heroin. “Nearly four out of five prisoners (77%) have already consumed one of these products at least once while incarcerated,” the study authors note.

“This is not surprising, previous studies have already shown that there is tobacco and cannabis consumption. The question was how and how much,” Stanislas Spilka, head of data at OFDT, explains to AFP.

In descending order, the most commonly consumed psychoactive substances on a daily basis in prison are tobacco, cannabis and alcohol, compared with tobacco, alcohol and cannabis in the general population. “Half of detainees (49%) say that they have already used cannabis during their arrest, regardless of the actual length of detention,” the survey clarifies.

“Neither a place of initiation nor a place of stopping”

In terms of frequency of use, 39% of prisoners use cannabis at least once a month, 34% at least once a week and 26% daily. “For daily cannabis smokers, the prevalence among prisoners is eight times higher than among the general population,” Guillaume Eiragne, director of the OFDT, told AFP.

Use of cocaine, crack, MDMA or heroin is lower: 14% of inmates say they have used one of these four substances at least once while incarcerated. The prevalence of cocaine, crack, MDMA and heroin use was 13%, 6.2%, 5.4% and 5.1%, respectively, with no differences by age group.

The vast majority of inmates who used substances while incarcerated already reported significant substance use prior to incarceration. “Through the results of this study, we understand that prison is neither a place of initiation nor a place of arrest where consumption rates are higher than in the general population. This requires more drug addiction counseling,” recommends Mr. Eiran.

Although drinking or purchasing alcohol is prohibited in prison, it is the third most commonly used substance in prison, with 16% of inmates saying they have used it at least once.

Availability as a factor influencing consumption

The research also shows that prisoners have different perceptions of the availability of cannabis and alcohol, with cannabis being perceived as more accessible than alcohol. “The size of alcohol bottles and their indivisibility is an argument often cited by prisoners to explain the lower turnover of this product compared to marijuana,” note the authors, who recall the means used by prisoners to introduce illegal goods in prison.

These involve projections by third parties over prison walls inside exercise yards, delivery by drone, transmission through a visitor in a visiting room or by mail, or through a prison employee (guard, speakers, kitchen exteriors, medical staff), usually in exchange for financial compensation .

The second part is planned for 2025, which will extend the scope of the investigation to women prisoners (3.4% of the total prison population, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Justice). Those detained abroad will also be the subject of a separate section.