Drug Use Among Prisoners

Drug Use and Dependence, State and Federal Prisoners, 2004 (Oct. 2006, revised Nov. 29, 2006) is a special report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

About a quarter of offenders reported using a drug at the time of their offense, and about half had used within a month of their offense. Perhaps it's not surprising that drug and property offenders were more likely to be drug users than violent offenders.

Drug dependent or abusing inmates were more likely than other inmates to
report troubled personal backgrounds, including experiences of physical or
sexual abuse, homelessness, unemployment, parental substance abuse, and parental incarceration.

p. 8. More prisoners participated in drug abuse programs in prison in 2004 than in 1997. In state prisons, it's around 40% for prisoners who reported using within a month of the offense AND for the prisoners who met the criteria in the study for drug dependence. It's a little higher in the federal system.

Thanks: beSpacific.