GETTING HIGH IN THE BIG HOUSE

Drug use at federal prisons has risen over the past five years,
according to a new government audit. A story in Wednesday's Post
suggests that, despite the use of new detection technology (including
something called Ion Mobility Spectrometry), inmates are still finding
ways to get -- and use -- drugs inside prison walls.

It's naive to think prison staff are unaware of the problem. So why is
the practice being condoned? According to one expert familiar with the
issue, corrections officers let the druggies off easy, in part because
it keeps them docile. "Drug use ... brings peace and tranquility," says
Scot Wortley, an associate professor at the University of Toronto's
Centre of Criminology. "Otherwise, the prisoners might be more
inclined to riot."

Professor Wortley also suggests that some prison staff might benefit
economically by taking a cut from pushers, or even supplying the drugs
themselves. Such was apparently the case in 2001 when David and Gail
Perkins, correctional officers at Kingston Penitentiary, committed
suicide amid allegations of drug smuggling.

Obvious health risks aside, drug use in prison makes a farce out of
the notion of rehabilitation -- one of the supposed goals of criminal
sentencing. Prison officials may be unable to interdict every
smuggling attempt, but they should at least be able to ensure that
recreational drug use is not a common and accepted part of life behind
bars.