Almost half of the prisoners who underwent Mountjoy's drug detoxification programme in its first year returned to drug use, according to a prison doctor's study.
Out of the 88 prisoners detoxed in Mountjoy, 36 had returned to drug use in the 12 months after the programme started in July 1996, according to the report by the medical officer to the drug treatment unit, Dr Des Crowley.
One-in-five detox prisoners had started injecting heroin in prison, the report says. The reason given for changing from smoking the drug to injecting it was because heroin was less available in prison. Addicts can get a stronger fix with a smaller quantity by injecting. Nine out of 10 of the addicts on detox were intravenous drug users.
There are 10 places on the eight-week programme - two weeks of detox and six weeks of rehabilitation. Addicts are given medication to relieve withdrawal symptoms. Published as part of the Working Group on the Courts Commission report on drug courts, Dr Crowley's report describes as a "huge success" the 98 per cent completion rate of prisoners on the drug detox programme.
"We have proven that prisoners who are motivated and who are given an opportunity to engage in a structured detox and rehabilitation programme and whose environment is made drug free through strict regulation visits will successfully stay off illicit drugs."
However, Dr Crowley says once the prisoner is in "a less secure and regulated environment" there is "huge potential" for relapse.
There is an "urgent" need for a counsellor to provide "one-to-one counselling". Dr Crowley also recommends a "halfway house" for prisoners who misbehave or test positive for cannabis or alcohol while in the drug-free training unit.
Under the regime, prisoners who break the rules of the training unit are returned to the main prison, described in the report as "an environment where it is extremely difficult to stay opiate free".
Dr Crowley also calls for a methadone maintenance programme to avoid the spread of disease through the sharing of needles. All of the prisoners with a history of intravenous drug use who were tested for hepatitis C tested positive.
The profile of those in the detox programme showed that they ranged from 18 to 41 years. More than 60 per cent had children, 80 per cent had no school qualifications, 68 per cent never had a job or training. All the prisoners had used heroin, 58 per cent had used cocaine and 80 per cent had used benzodiazpines. Every prisoner said he had shared needles while in prison.
The report also recommends extending the detox programme to juvenile prisoners in St Patrick's and women prisoners.
