Inmates ‘develop heroin habit in jail’

YOUNG offenders and people on remand awaiting trial are getting hooked on heroin inside Limerick Prison, a study has found.

The report – conducted by researchers at Dublin City University for the Bedford Row Family Project in Limerick – said an estimated 80% of inmates have taken drugs; mainly cannabis, heroin and prescription drugs.

The authors said the finding that offenders were getting their first taste of heroin inside Limerick Prison was consistent with other studies of prisons.