Inmates are being given paper straws and foil to facilitate illegal drug consumption behind bars, Correctional Service Canada (CSC) has confirmed.
An internal memo promoting the so-called harm reduction scheme instructs Health Services staff to distribute the paraphernalia directly to prisoners for “safer snorting” and “safer smoking”.
The instructions specify that the straws are intended for “inhaling substances in powdered form or inhaling vapour from heated substances”, and the foil is “designed specifically for smoking substances”.
Promoting law breaking
CSC communications officer Laurence Côté claimed that the estate “maintains a zero-tolerance policy for the introduction of illicit drugs in its institutions”.
But the Toronto Sun commented: “In other words, they’re giving up. They can’t stop the flow of illegal drugs into prisons, so they will accommodate those who have access to them for safety reasons.”
“To us, this negates the purpose of prison, which is to keep criminals in an environment where they can’t commit more crimes, not make it safer to commit new ones in prison.”
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