A REPORT from Britain鈥檚 Prison Service appears to confirm fears that
prisoners are switching from cannabis to harder drugs to beat drugs tests (see
鈥淲elcome to Cell Block Heroin鈥�, 21 October 1995, p 14).
When prison inspectors visited the low-security Wayland jail in Norfolk, they
were told by inmates that the use of opiates and crack cocaine was rising.
Prisoners say this is because cannabis users may test positive 30 days after
using the drug, whereas opiate users would pass an equivalent test within three
days.
The Home Office says that this conclusion is unreliable because the study was
based on what prisoners said. But the Prison Service has called for more
research to find out whether a desire to beat drug tests is driving inmates to
use crack cocaine and heroin.
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