Prisons are rife with spice according to reports, which is showing a large number of deaths among male prisoners as urgent action is being called in order to tackle the crisis.
Between 2015 and 2020, there have been 129 “non-natural” deaths in prisons across England and Wales, with synthetic cannabinoids, also known as spice, playing a huge part in those.
Spice addiction and abuse has been a significant problem across the country in certain parts of society, most notably prison and among the homeless community, and these reports are damning, with around 50% of “non-natural” deaths being attributed to spice.
A team at the Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at Middlesex University analysed the reports on such deaths, with Karen Duke a professor of criminology who led the study stating:
“We were shocked at how many deaths were associated with synthetic cannabinoids. For nearly half of the deaths we analysed, spice was involved.
“The system is in complete crisis. That’s the sense you get from these reports.”
The findings suggest there have been a series of failures that increase the risks of drug deaths within prison, including the likes of inadequate support for the most vulnerable prisoners, as well as understaffing and the cuts that have been cut to certain services.
Synthetic cannabinoids are incredibly potent and often smuggled into prisons by the chemicals being sprayed onto paper, which is then brought into prisons, with users then rolling up that paper and smoking it.
According to the study, failing to spot warning signs and slow emergency responses played a role, with those most commonly dying due to spice often having a history of mental health issues and addiction, coming from before they arrived in prison.
Duke added:
“There is an urgent need for interventions and resources to address the risks, including expanded substance use and mental health treatment, harm reduction initiatives, wider sentencing reform, and improvements in the prison regime.”
Drug deaths in prison have risen at an alarming rate and it’s an issue that needs to be tackled, with Charlie Taylor, chief inspector of prisons, stating that drugs continue to be a problem within them, not only causing severe health risks but also being one of the main factors in much of the violence that does occur within them.
Purposeful activity is one solution to this, providing prisoners with something to engage their brain, whether it be through training, employment or any other activity in order to get people out of their cells and away from boredom which is often contributed to increased drug taking.
Of course, more support needs to be given to staff and patient support too if fatalities are going to ease anytime in the future.