The Addicts are Dropping Like Flies in Prison

Last week was a banner day in prison, but for all the wrong reasons. In a two or three day period, at least fifteen prisoners at Parnall Correctional Facility overdosed on drugs. As far as I know, they all survived, but it's only a matter of time before someone dies. 

Many Michigan prisoners over the last few years have turned to a substance that is referred to in prison as "paper" or "toonch." Apparently, it mimics the effects of crack, but it is a chemical substance sprayed on paper. Rumor has it that some "toonch" is bug spray on paper. I'm not an expert, so I wouldn't know, but the main key for these prisoners is that the administration cannot test for its use. That means it's difficult to hold these prisoners accountable. It's also very difficult for the administration to catch the drug coming in to prison. 

Nevertheless, the effects are obvious. Some prisoners who have used start acting highly erratic, even stripping naked at times and writhing on the ground. Others fall on the ground and appear to seize, slurring their speech or drooling on themselves. The effects usually last for less than an hour. 

The prisoners who use these substances also often run up debts with the dealers. Some concoct stories to get their families to pay their debts, but others have to "lock up" when they can't pay. They ask the officers for protection and then go into protective custody. They avoid paying their insurmountable debt, but that debt often catches up with them at whatever other prison they are then transferred to. 

As a prisoner who is trying to find productive and constructive ways to spend his time in prison, it's frustrating to see the lack of purpose, the hopelessness, and the stupidity that is running rampant here. As a prisoner who facilitates a substance abuse recovery group, it feels pretty hopeless. The pull of the paper (and other substances) is strong, and so many men are ill equipped to say no. Some simply don't want to. 

It's maddening when the administration reacts to these overdoses by taking away our privileges and increasing our lock downs. But what other remedies are there? Last week, I wrote about the MDOC's wasteful expenditures on a body scanner that isn't even looking in the right places for illicit substances. Perhaps looking in the right places would be a good start. 

Eventually, I'm sure the administration will have the ability to test for these substances. Recent batches have apparently been adulterated with fentynal, and tests are already available to test for that. That's a step in the right direction. But they'll never be able to stop the trade. As long as there are humans involved (prisoners and officers), there will be greed driving the trade. 

The real key to changing this drug driven narrative is to change hearts and minds. But you can't force or coerce that kind of change. It has to come naturally, or when, as they say in A.A., the users have hit "rock bottom." Apparently for some, prison isn't far down enough. Sadly, for many only death will stop their decline. Let's hope that for most it won't go that far.