This report presents statistics from the 2016 Survey of Prison Inmates (SPI), which addressed alcohol and drug use and treatment reported in face-to-face interviews with a national sample of state and federal inmates ages 18 and older.
Approximately 54 percent 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 imprisoned. Thirty-one percent of state prisoners and 25 percent of federal prisoners reported drinking alcohol at the time of the offense. Thirty-nine percent of state prisoners and 31 percent of federal prisoners reported using drugs at the time of the offense. Male state prisoners were more likely to report drinking alcohol at the time of their offense than female state prisoners (32 percent compared to 26 percent); however, female state prisoners were more likely than male state prisoners to report using at least one drug at the time of their offense (49 percent compared to 39 percent). An estimated 21 percent of state prisoners and 20 percent of federal prisoners reported using marijuana at the time of the offense. About 20 percent of state prisoners and 11 percent of federal prisoners reported ever using heroin, and 5 percent of state prisoners and 3 percent of federal prisoners reported using heroin at the time of the offense. Among those not incarcerated for the entire 12 months prior to admission to prison, about 49 percent of state and 32 percent of federal prisoners met the criteria for having a substance-use disorder in that time period. An estimated 33 percent of state and 45 percent of federal prisoners who met the criteria for having a substance-use disorder in the 12 months prior to incarceration participated in alcohol or drug treatment in prison. 11 tables and 1 figure