A federal plan to rid Canada's prison system of drugs has been a dismal failure, says Blacklock's Reporter..In fact, the problem has got a whole lot worse..The number of drug addicts in federal prison increased since Parliament passed the Drug-Free Prisons Act, according to Correctional Service data. .“Indigenous and white offenders have greater substance use needs than other ethnocultural groups,” said a Correctional Service report..A survey of 34,202 men sentenced to federal penitentiaries in the period from 2006 to 2019 showed the number of lifetime addicts increased..Inmates reporting “lifetime drug use” included 91% of indigenous prisoners, 79% of whites and 51% of blacks..“Across all ethnocultural groups cannabis has been the most used drug,” said the report..“Cocaine or crack has been the second most used drug.”.Parliament in 2015 passed Bill C-12 the Drug-Free Prisons Act that automatically cancelled parole for any inmate who failed a drug test. The act also required the Parole Board to instruct parolees to abstain from alcohol and narcotics..Data shows the act was ineffective..“The number of opioid-related overdose incidents in federal custody has increased over the past six years,” the Correction Service wrote in a 2020 report..The number of opioid overdoses in federal prison more than doubled, wrote staff..Other drugs commonly used in prison include cannabis, cocaine, methamphetamine and prescription antidepressants, said the 2020 report. The highest rate of overdoses was reported at Alberta’s Drumheller Institution and Manitoba’s Stony Mountain penitentiary..Drug abuse in prisons was so commonplace the Correctional Service in 2018 budgeted $1.2 million to expand surveillance to halt drug drops by drone. It followed incidents in British Columbia and Ontario where narcotics were airlifted into prison yards..“Drones in particular are seen as an emerging risk due to their increasing capabilities and decreasing costs, making them an easily accessible means of introducing contraband into an institution, creating diversions or covert surveillance,” said a Correctional Service notice.
