§ Mr. Jon Owen JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what assessment he has made of whether there is an incentive in prisons for prisoners to switch from using drugs that remain in the body for a long period to other substances; [51581]
(2) pursuant to his answer of 11 April 2002, Official Report, column 567W, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the fall in the detection of cannabis use among prisoners by the mandatory drug testing programme. [51580]
§ Beverley HughesMandatory drug testing (MDT) figures show that, overall, drug misuse in prisons has declined significantly over the past five years. The statistics suggest that much of this decline has been down to reductions in the use of cannabis, with opiate use static. Deterrence, supply reduction and treatment have been the key elements of the Prison Service's drug strategy and the decline in MDT rates gives evidence of its success.
Available research evidence does not support the assertion that prisoners have switched from cannabis to other drugs which can only be detected for a shorter period. The Prison Service is continuing to look at this issue. The Institute of Psychiatry and the Office for National Statistics are currently reviewing the MDT programme, including the issue of switching. Their findings are expected in May 2002.