BMJ 1994;308:1716 (25 June)

Letters

Drug use in prison

EDITOR, - Michael Ross and colleagues point to the problem of drug use and injecting in English and Welsh prisons and the threat this poses for HIV transmission.1 Previous studies of injecting drug users have consistently shown that the majority will at some time be imprisoned and that about a third of this group will inject in prison, of whom about three quarters will share needles and syringes.*RF 2-7*

Our recent data show no improvement in the situation. From a sample of 507 injecting drug misusers in London interviewed in 1993 in a study funded by the Medical Research Council, 99 were randomly selected to answer questions about their prison experiences. Seventy six had experienced imprisonment. Of these, 45 had received no treatment, advice, or help for their drug problem the last time they were in prison. Injection in prison was reported by 21, and, of these, 14 shared needles . . . [Full text of this article]


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Relevant Article

Prison: shield from threat, or threat to survival?
M Ross, A B Grossman, S Murdoch, R Rundey, J Golding, S Purchase, T Munyard, M Scoot, and A Bridger
BMJ 1994 308: 1092-95. [Extract] [Full Text]

This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Khan, A. J., Simard, E. P., Bower, W. A., Wurtzel, H. L., Khristova, M., Wagner, K. D., Arnold, K. E., Nainan, O. V., LaMarre, M., Bell, B. P. (2005). Ongoing Transmission of Hepatitis B Virus Infection Among Inmates at a State Correctional Facility. AJPH 95: 1793-1799 [Abstract] [Full text]  
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