Drug Treatment for Prisoners

Abstract

Globally more than 10.2 million people are held in prisons on any given day, of whom 10% to 48% of males and 30% to 60% of females are estimated to be drug-dependent. Rates of incarceration for people with drug-related problems have increased in the past couple of decades. The preponderance of people who use or inject drugs in prisons, high rates of drug-related harm in prison and after release, and the high level of re-incarceration among drug users after release from prison are the main reasons for providing drug treatment in prisons. This chapter provides an overview of the rationale for prison drug treatment programs in prison., It describes three main forms of treatment: opioid substitution treatment (OST), therapeutic communities or drug free units, and cognitive behavioral therapy. A review of the evidence on the effectiveness of each treatment is presented, and the chapter concludes with recommendations for drug treatment in the prison setting.