As reported in the Lansing State Journal today, the MDOC will not allow smoking by prisoners or staff on the grounds of any Michigan prison (inmates cannot smoke indoors now, only outdoors--but by 2009 there will be no outdoor smoking allowed either).
I certainly understand the desire to have healthier prisoners & staff, but this really undermines the entire inmate economic system. Perhaps their primary goal is to quash the cigarette economy with the secondary aspect of improved health--who knows?
Also, don't addicts usually substitute one addition for another? Isn't this why most recovering alcoholics are smokers? Will this push inmates toward other, more harmful substances?
Given that Michigan has been dealing with a Hepatitis C epidemic for the past several years, perhaps now is not the best time to institute a smoking ban.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
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4 comments:
Oregon banned cigarettes in its prisons quite a while ago. While it may have quashed the visible cigarette economy, it created a new highly sought-after form of contraband. Apparently, one cigarette goes for as much as $10 inside the walls. The stories I've heard are only anecdotal, but I imagine such a huge profit ratio for a product that is readily available in the community may cause more management and security problems than a smoking ban solves.
VERY interesting... thanks Michelle.
So, instead of smuggling in drugs visitors smuggle in cigarettes (which seem pretty easy to smuggle, IMHO).
It seems resources could be better spent on other programs, particularly when Michigan is having such budgetary problems.
I have heard similar accounts - banning smokes will not remove them from prisons, we know that for sure. It just makes them more sought after and worth more in trade. Like the dollar against the euro. Besides, a girlfriend or dirty screw usually won't catch a case by smuggling in cigarettes like they would if they were caught bringing in pot or coke(there will just be some administrative sanction).
"Dirty screw"? Did this blog suddenly turn into a bad '50s prison movie?
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