Written question asked by Paul Flynn (Labour) on Wednesday, 9 June 1999, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 15 June 1999. It was answered by George Howarth (Labour) on Tuesday, 15 June 1999 on behalf of the Home Office.

Home Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the effect of random drugs tests in prisons on the use of (a) cannabis, (b) cocaine and (c) heroin. - Inc table.

Answer: Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effect of random drugs tests in prisons on the use of (a) cannabis, (b) cocaine and (c) heroin. [86958] Mr. George Howarth: The table sets out the percentages of random mandatory drug test (MDT) samples that have tested positive in each of the last three financial years. It is not possible to attribute any changes entirely to the MDT programme. Supply reduction and treatment programmes also impact on the level of drug misuse in prisons. Percentage of random mandatory drug tests positive for cannabis, heroin and cocaine _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Drug type 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 Cannabis 19.9 16.5 14 Opiates (including heroin) 5.4 4.2 4.4 Cocaine 0.2 0.2 0.3 _________________________________________________________________________________________________.

Secondary information