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In 2014, the annual report of the Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons (HMIP) for England and Wales raised concerns regarding New Psychoactive Substance (NPS) use in custody, specifically the consumption of synthetic cannabinoids. To date, however, the use of these substances in prison populations, and the markets that have emerged to facilitate it, have been under-researched.

Our research was conducted in an English adult male prison using multi-method techniques. These included: in-depth interviews and focus groups with prison staff and prisoners; observations of prisoner-led focus groups, workshops and restorative justice circles involving discussion of synthetic cannabinoid use and markets; and analysis of routinely collected prison data measuring drug seizures, incidents of violence and incidents of self-harm.

The findings highlight: (1) the scale and nature of synthetic …