More than Coronavirus Sweeps through Prisons

 The coronavirus pandemic has had many unforeseen consequences, including crashing job markets, increased social anxieties, and skyrocketing usage of home gyms and homeschooling. Perhaps due to increases in anxiety, access to government rescue money, increased generalized stress, or some combination of these causes, drug usage has also skyrocketed during the pandemic. 

This same phenomenon has also occurred in prison. When family and friend visits and normal activities were stopped in prison due to the virus, drug usage increased. It is unclear whether this increase is due to added stress, reduced structure and activities, or some other reason. What is clear, though, is that while the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) has blamed much of the prevalence of drugs in prison on visitor and mail smuggling, even after these are no longer options, drug use remains high. 

In another useless attempt to stop the inflow of drugs into prison, the MDOC recently made significant changes to its mail policy. All incoming mail, including envelopes, are photocopied, and only the photocopies are delivered to prisoners. This means Christmas, birthday, and other holiday cards are delivered as black and white photocopies. It also means prisoners lose the vibrancy of drawings created by children for their fathers, and other mail, likewise, has a more impersonal feel to it. 

Changing the mail policy has not helped to stop the influx of drugs into prison. Access to Narcotics Anonymous and Celebrate Recovery groups, and peer-to-peer addiction mentoring also did little to stem these destructive choices before these options were shut down by the pandemic. Those prisoners who actually want to change (normally) have support from these programs, and that is a good thing, but if someone does not want to change, they'll find a way to continue destructive habits. 

Almost daily, it seems, ambulances enter this prison to take another prisoner who overdosed to the hospital. Watching another prisoner act crazy or have a medical emergency because of using a toxic chemical does not deter those who are chasing a high or seeking relief from their mental or emotional pain. Some of the same prisoners who leave in an ambulance are back to their same destructive patterns within a day or two. 

Clearly, the MDOC has to do something. They need to at least appear proactive at stemming the problem, but punishing all prisoners with overreaching mail policies is not solving the problem. It is unclear if the problem is being addressed at staff levels, but this ought to be done, and it ought to be a high priority. Positive peer pressure among prisoners has not proven very effective, but a few trained peer mentors continue to work with other prisoners who express a desire for change. For the rest, well, you can't force someone to change. 

Once the pandemic is behind us, corrections staff will likely resume regular shakedowns, and fear of consequences will deter a few prisoners from breaking the rules. Others, those committed to their addictions, those who are easily swayed by peer pressure, and those for whom addiction has a stranglehold, will continue to find ways to avoid facing trauma from their past, including trauma for which they are responsible. They'll continue to self-medicate to relieve boredom and stress, and as has already been shown, greater restrictions on prisoner rights and privileges will not make an ounce of difference to their access.