Alcohol and Drug Use and Treatment Reported by Prisoners: Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016

• NCJ Number: 252641
• Author(s): Laura M. Maruschak, Bureau of Justice Statistics; Jennifer Bronson, Ph.D., BJS Statistician; Mariel Alper, Ph.D., former BJS Statistician
• Date Published: July 2021
• Publication Type: Publication

Description

This report presents statistics on drug and alcohol use among prisoners before they were imprisoned, highlighting differences by demographic characteristics. The report details prisoners’ participation in drug and alcohol treatment programs since admission to prison. Additionally, it describes the percentage of prisoners who met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) dependence or abuse criteria for alcohol or drug use disorder.

Highlights

• Thirty-one percent of state prisoners and 25% of federal prisoners reported drinking alcohol at the time of the offense.
• Nearly 4 in 10 state prisoners (39%) and 3 in 10 federal prisoners (31%) reported using drugs at the time of the offense.
• Among state prisoners, males (32%) were more likely than females (26%) to report drinking alcohol at the time of the offense but were less likely (39%) than females (49%) to report using at least one drug at the time of the offense.
• An estimated 2 in 10 state (21%) and federal (20%) prisoners reported using marijuana at the time of the offense.