The prison system in the Czech Republic: analysis of the current state of illicit drug use and prevention and treatment measures

After 1989, rapid ideological and political change led the Czech Republic toward a more rational drug policy. The nature of substance use and prevention and treatment services in the Czech prison system, however, has not yet been comprehensively described and this paper reviews the available evidence. Limitations to evaluation and monitoring of service delivery in Czech prisons are highlighted and recommendations to improve responses to drug use are discussed. Changes in substance use in the Czech Republic in the 1990s, especially opiate use, are reflected in Czech prisons, which now more closely resemble the substance use situation in Western European prisons.