A prison in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley is struggling to contain a spiralling drug problem, with drones making multiple deliveries to prisoners each day, according to a union leader who called the situation “insane.
A prison in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley is struggling to contain a spiralling drug problem, with drones making multiple deliveries to prisoners each day, according to a union leader who called the situation “insane.”
John Randle, regional president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers, said staff at the Mountain Institution in Agassiz are exhausted from handling the “non-stop” drone drops and overdoses among inmates.
“It’s eating us alive,” he said.
The union says in a statement that officers seized almost 200 grams of crystal meth and other drugs at the medium-security prison on Wednesday.
It also said there have been two fatal overdoses in the prison since mid-October.
Randle said the planned expansion of a needle exchange program to facilities that he said include Mountain Institution risks worsening the problem.
“Why, when we have an overdose problem, are we giving them another tool to overdose on?” said Randle.
Correctional Service Canada says on its website it has been rolling out the prison needle exchange program in federal institutions across the country since 2018 and it’s currently being used at nine federal facilities.
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