Prevalence of illicit drug use before imprisonment in Europe: results from a comprehensive literature review

Abstract

Current data on the prevalence of prior illicit drug use among the prison population in Europe is scarce. The aim of this study is to identify the prevalence of illicit drug use prior to incarceration, as reported by studies conducted in 30 European countries. A comprehensive literature review was conducted from the 5–31 of March 2018 using the databases Cochrane Library, Embase, MEDLINE, PsychINFO and PubMed. After the deletion of duplications, 2607 articles meeting the eligibility criteria for review were identified. In total, 26 studies from 12 different countries have been included in this review. The review found that the lifetime prevalence of illicit drug use before imprisonment ranged from 30 to 93%; last year prevalence from 51 to 69%; last 6 months prevalence from 13 to 75% and last month prevalence from 58 to 62%. The prevalence of illicit drug use was especially high among women. The rates varied across the 26 studies although high prevalence values are reported in most studies and variations are partly related to methodological differences in the reviewed studies. The high levels of prior involvement with drugs, necessitates prisons to develop clear strategies to deal with illicit drug use.