title: A survey of pre-arrest drug use in sentenced prisoners.
abstract: The paper presents the results of a retrospective, self-report survey of pre-arrest drug use in a representative sample of 1751 men serving a prison sentence. Reported drugs used were cannabis (34%), opiates (9%), amphetamine (9%) and cocaine (5%), including 1% 'crack' users. Pre-arrest injecting was reported by 11% of inmates, including 68% of all opiate users and 57% of amphetamine users. Drug dependence was reported by 11%, including 7% dependent on opiates, 2% on amphetamines and 1% on cocaine. Relative to other drugs, the figure for cocaine is higher than is suggested by a previous clinic survey. Pre-arrest cannabis use was reported by 54% of black prisoners and 34% of white. White prisoners are more likely to report use of 'hard' drugs, drug dependence and injecting, but this masks a higher rate of cocaine use by black prisoners. Opiate use varied between health regions, from 3% of prisoners in the West Midlands to 25% of those from the Mersey region. These findings have implications for service provision and for an understanding of cultural influences on illicit drug use.
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maden
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Swinton
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gunn
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D014852:Wales / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D013287:Illicit Drugs; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs