摘要：

In 2014, the Annual Report of the Chief Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales raised concerns regarding new psychoactive substance (NPS) use in custody, especially the consumption of synthetic cannabinoids. To date, however, the consumption of NPS in prison populations, and the markets that have emerged to facilitate it, have been under-researched. The research on which this paper is based was conducted in an English prison using multi-method techniques. These included: in-depth interviews and focus groups with prison staff and prisoners; observations of prison-led focus groups, workshops and restorative justice circles, that involved discussion of NPS use and markets; and analysis of routinely collected prison data measuring drug seizures, incidents of violence and incidents of self-harm. The findings highlight: (1) the scale and nature of synthetic cannabinoid markets in a custodial setting and the motivations for establishing them; (2) the nature and motivations for NPS use in prisons; and (3) the impact NPS drug markets in this setting have upon prisoners, the prison system and the wider criminal justice system. The policy implications of the stated motivations for use and reported problems are discussed in relation to both prison and community settings. The paper concludes that the rise in NPS use in custody and the scale of prisoner NPS drug markets are posing significant challenges to the management of offenders; including healthcare, appropriate detection techniques, license recall and sanctions for both use and dealing. The authors propose a revision of the use of mandatory drug tests (MDTs) both in prisons and the management of offenders in the community.

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