A study of drug use pattern among inmates of Jos prison, Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated drug use pattern among inmates of Jos prison between 2010 and 2014. The study used a longitudinal design. Secondary data from the records unit of the Prison was employed for this study. The social disorganization theory was adopted for the understanding of drug abuse among prison inmates. A total of 3134 inmates who were admitted for drug use treatment in the Psychological Services Unit of Jos prison were used for this study, while simple percentage was used for analysis. Permission to use data from the unit for this study was obtained from the appropriate authorities of the Nigerian Prisons Service. Results show that inmates mostly used caffeine, alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana. Results also show that more youths use drugs, and that more inmates were admitted for treatment in 2010. The study recommended that the Nigerian Prisons Service should recruit more psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers to manage the rising cases of psychoactive drug use among prison inmates, and that parents whose children have been identified to abuse drugs should be co-opted into the rehabilitation process.

Keywords: Drug use, prison inmates, Nigeria, longitudinal study