Alcohol and drug use and treatment reported by Prisoners: Survey of Prison inmates

Among all state and federal prisoners (1,421,700), nearly 4 in 10 (38%) reported using drugs and 3 in 10 (30%) reported drinking alcohol at the time of the offense for which they were serving a sentence (figure 1, table 1). Statistics in this report are based on self-reported data collected through face-to-face interviews with a national sample of state and federal prisoners age 18 or older in the 2016 Survey of Prison Inmates (SPI). (See Methodology.)

Nearly two-thirds (64%) of state and federal prisoners reported using at least one drug in the 30 days prior to arrest for the offense for which they were serving time. Among state and federal prisoners who were not incarcerated for the entire 12 months prior to admission to prison for the offense for which they were serving a sentence (916,900), nearly half (47%) met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM–IV) criteria for substance use disorder in the 12 months prior to admission to prison. (See Measurement of alcohol, drug, and substance use disorders.)

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.
• About 20% of state and 11% of federal prisoners reported ever using heroin, and 5% of state and 3% of federal prisoners reported using it at the time of the offense.
• Among those not incarcerated for the entire 12 months prior to admission to prison, about 49% of state and 32% of federal prisoners met the criteria for having a substance use disorder in that time period.