DRUG USE BY OREGON INMATES DROPS

* The prison system puts a damper on illegal substances, but the prisoners
still try to smuggle in tobacco

As Oregon inmates sink more effort into sneaking cigarettes and other
tobacco products into state prisons, their use of illegal drugs continues
to decline, according to records released this week.

For the first time in the history of the Oregon Department of Corrections,
the percentage of positive drug tests among randomly selected state
prisoners has fallen to less than then 1 percent for 12 consecutive months,
agency records show.

And of the 406 inmates subjected to urinalysis in March, all tested negative.

"The drug of choice is tobacco," said Les Dolecal, inspector general for
the state's prison system. "Tobacco is a problem we're dealing with daily.
But what's positive is that we're seeing less focus by inmates on getting
illegal drugs."

Each month, a computer program randomly selects 5 percent of the state's
8,500 inmates to be tested for opiates, amphetamines, cocaine and
marijuana. The department does not test for nicotine.

Over the past 10 years, the number of positive drug tests among inmates
have steadily declined, from an average of 9 percent in 1989, when testing
began, to an average of .28 percent so far this year.

In the three years since the department implemented a no-smoking policy for
inmates, the percentage of inmates testing positive for drugs has almost
halved from an average of 0.93 percent in 1996 to 0.53 in 1998.

An estimated 68 percent of the state's inmate population has a history of
substance abuse, according to admission records.

Since the smoking ban was implemented, tobacco has become the hottest item
in the prisons' underground black market.

But tobacco doesn't account for the entire decline in illegal drug use,
said Dolecal, who credited "staff diligence," aggressive drug treatment
programs and the use of drug-sniffing dogs to weed out stashes behind
prison walls.

For example, in April there were 1,467 dog searches - about 50 a day - of
inmate cells throughout the state. Dogs turned up 34 stashes that month,
Dolecal said.

Oregon consistently is among the lowest states in the nation for inmates
testing positive for drug use, according to the Criminal Justice Institute.
In 1996, when the national average was 9.3 percent, Oregon was the lowest
with less than 1 percent of inmates testing positive.

In addition to the cell searches, investigators pore over inmate mail and
collect information about conspiracies to bring in illegal drugs.

"We're getting smarter about how we track drug activity," Dolecal said.