Illicit drug use among Icelandic prisoners prior to their imprisonment

This study investigates illicit drug use among new admissions to Icelandic prisons over a 21-month period. Of all new admissions, 344 (96%) agreed to participate in the study. They were asked questions about their previous use of illicit drugs and this was related to the nature of their current offence. Cannabis and amphetamines were the most commonly used illicit drugs, with 62% and 50% of the subjects admitting to having used these substances at some time in their life. The corresponding figures for having consumed these illicit drugs during the previous six months were 31% and 28%, respectively. Only 11 subjects (3%) reported having used opiates. Seventy-three subjects (23%) reported intravenous drug use. Women prisoners (43%) more commonly reported injecting drugs than men (21%) prisoners. Significant differences were found between offence categories, with persons convicted of drug and property offences most commonly having used illicit drugs.