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Prohibition Doesn't Even Work in the Prisons, Melbourne Prison Staff Find

The following adaptation is based on an article by staff, (Alleged Prison Drug Smugglers Charged, 11-08-2009, The Australian), and is part of a demonstration project on drug policy conducted by the publication Drug War Chronicle.

Prison staff and investigators in Melbourne over the past two weeks have charged three people with prohibition law violations for smuggling prescription drugs into Melbourne's remand centre, according to The Australian.

Police allege they were trafficking Buprenorphine, an opiate drug used to treat chronic pain and heroin addiction. A 20-year-old woman from Altona North has been charged with prohibition law violations. She has been bailed and will appear in Sunshine Magistrates' Court on January 20, according to The Australian.

Acting Sergeant Andrew Eyries said the investigation was launched after drug tests among inmates showed a spike in positive drug tests. "We believe that this operation may have discouraged any further attempts to get unlawful drugs into the prison," he told The Australian.

Eyries did not comment on how many officers have made similar comments in the past, only to be proven wrong again and again; nor on what the difficulty of keeping drugs out of prisons suggests for trying to keep drugs out of all Australia.

It was also reported that two 38-year-old men, one from Flemington and one from Lalor, are also facing prohibition-related charges. Both will face court on February 15.