Rise in inmates receiving methadone

Aug 26 2010

Tories have branded the rise in prisoners receiving methadone as "extremely worrying" after it was revealed the number of inmates given the heroin substitute increased by more than a third in less than four years.

An audit carried out in Scotland's jails last month showed 1,679 prisoners were receiving the drug - 21.5% of the prison population.

The total number of inmates being given the drug is also 36.7% higher than it was December 2006 when a similar audit showed that 1,228 inmates were on methadone.