Substance use does not necessarily stop at the prison gates. A large multicenter study from India suggests that psychoactive substance use remains an important health issue during incarceration, with patterns before imprisonment and withdrawal symptoms emerging as key predictors of continued use. Published in the Indian Journal of Medical Research, the cross-sectional study included 7,004 adults from 17 prisons across nine states representing different regions of India. Participants were systematically selected and interviewed about substance use across three time points, including lifetime use, the month before imprisonment, and use during their current incarceration.
Alcohol was the most commonly reported substance, with 51.2% reporting lifetime use. Cannabis and opioids were reported by 19.7% and 10.8%, respectively. Among those who had used these substances, daily use during the…
