DRUGS EASY TO GET IN JAIL: JUDGE

Harsh Report Prompts Crackdown

In a scathing report to Alberta's Attorney General and Minister of Justice,
a Calgary judge says it's "ridiculously easy" for prisoners in the Calgary
Remand Centre to obtain illegal drugs and needles, the Herald has learned.

The report was generated following a fatality inquiry into the death of
prisoner Reginald Grant McLeod at the Calgary Remand Centre.

McLeod, 39, died November 2001 from an overdose of morphine (a narcotic
analgesic primarily used as a pain killer) and nitrazepam (a "downer" often
used to treat insomnia) that was smuggled into the jail in a fellow
prisoner's rectum.

Since the report, issued earlier this summer by Calgary provincial court
Judge Cheryl Daniel, sweeping changes have been made in the facility to cut
down on drug smuggling and subsequent use.

All metal ashtrays, which were used by prisoners to cook their drugs, have
been removed, and random drug testing comes into effect in September, said
Solicitor General spokeswoman Lynn Hutchings-Mah.

She said prison officials are working hard to rid the jail of its narcotics
problem and are "acting on" eight of the nine recommendations by Daniel.

Body cavity searches, suggested as a better way to ensure drugs aren't
coming into the facility, will not be considered by government officials,
said Hutchings-Mah.

"Non-medical staff can't do body cavity searches," she said.

It was revealed during McLeod's two-day fatality inquiry that another man
who was planning to turn himself in to police agreed to bring 10 morphine
tablets into the jail.

He used a plastic toy egg to store the small pills, which he secured
together with duct tape and placed in his rectum.

Inside the facility, McLeod was given five tablets while his accomplice got
the rest as payment for the transaction.

McLeod, who was awaiting placement in a federal jail, was found dead by
prison officials in his cell.

A syringe was found in the breast pocket of his shirt.

At the fatality inquiry in March, it became clear that syringes from the
remand centre's health centre were being brought by inmates into the
general prisoner population.

"Some syringes find their way into inmates' possession, as can be further
attested to by the fact another (Calgary Remand Centre) health centre
syringe was found in an inmate's possession in February of 2003," said the
report.

"The morphine levels detected in Mr. McLeod's system prove Mr. McLeod
injected morphine from at least two

100 mg crushed tablets several hours prior to his death."

It's believed McLeod also had a black metal ashtray in his room that he
used to heat the morphine before injecting it into his system.

The inquiry heard from several corrections officers who said up to 85 per
cent of inmates who pass through the centre have drug problems.

As long as prisoners go to great lengths to hide contraband, guards say
they are powerless to stop the trade.

Laurie Blakeman, Alberta Liberal justice critic, said the government needs
to address inmate drug problems in a more compassionate way, instead of
focusing on punishment.

"(They) have a 19th-century attitude in the 21st century," said Blakeman.

Blakeman would like to see needle exchanges and bleach kits supplied in
provincial jails. Bleach kits permit users to sanitize their needles.

New procedures for notifying Calgary police when drugs or drug
paraphernalia is found within the facility have been established and health
centre workers have become more accountable for all syringes, said
Hutchings-Mah.