‘A culture of sharing’: Drug exchange in a Norwegian prison

Abstract

Despite growing numbers of drug users in prisons all over the western world, drug exchange behind bars has received little scholarly attention. The few studies that exist describe the prison drug economy as mainly following market-based principles of exchange. However, ethnographic fieldwork in a closed Norwegian prison reveals something different: prisoners share their drugs, rather than selling them. In this article, I describe and try to explain this ‘culture of sharing’. Drawing on anthropological theories of exchange, drug sharing is understood as continuous gift-giving. The gift perspective allows us to see how sharing is shaped by motives of caring, compassion and solidarity, while it simultaneously emphasizes the self-interest embedded in such drug exchanges. The article argues that sharing is a highly effective form of drug exchange because there is a strong commitment to reciprocate when a prisoner receives drugs. The ‘culture of sharing’ is both contingent upon and produces social relations between prisoners. On the one hand, it offers an inclusive and solidary community for drug using prisoners; on the other hand it is upheld by strong social controls, by which deviations from accepted norms of conduct (i.e. failing to share) are sanctioned in a variety of ways.

Exploring prison drug use in the context of prison-based drug rehabilitation

“…Contrary to other accounts in the literature, who portray prison drug use as individual acts and prison drug users as quite isolated in the prisoner community (e.g. Crewe 2005Crewe , 2009, I found that drug use in Kollen prison had a distinct social character, and that it had important inclusionary and exclusionary functions (see also Mjåland, 2014).…”

“…Contrary to the few other studies that are published on prison drug markets (e.g. Crewe, 2005Crewe, , 2009Penfold et al, 2005), drug exchange in Kollen prison did not follow market-based principles, but was rather organised as a gift-economy, where prisoners shared their drugs with vaguely stated expectations of receiving something in return in the future (Mjåland, 2014). A shared norm of reciprocating drug gifts made this form of exchange effective, and the stable supply of buprenorphine diverted from the dispensing of OMT helped produce a vibrant drug subculture in the prison.…”

“…The extent and character of drug use in Kollen prison As reported in detail elsewhere (Mjåland, 2014), the most commonly used drug in Kollen prison, according to prisoners as well as prison staff, was buprenorphine. Other drugs reported to be used, although less frequently, was cannabis, benzodiazepines and amphetamine.…”

Covenants without the Sword? Comparing Prison Self-Governance Globally

“…If inmates are running late on their return, "they can telephone ahead and a meal will be left out for them" (Pratt 2008, 122-123 When inmates desire contraband, they do not always rely on markets. Mjåland's (2014) observational and interview-based study (n=23 inmates; n=12 staff members) of illicit drug use at Norway's Kollen prison reveals that inmates get drugs through reciprocal sharing arrangements. One resident summarizes the relationship: "you have to give in order to get" (Mjåland 2014, 343).…”

Drugs in prisons: Exploring use, control, treatment and policy

“…Crewe (2005Crewe ( , 2006, for instance, has shown that drug use and dealing tend to accentuate existing inequalities in prisons between powerful and more vulnerable prisoners, and also contribute to the prison becoming a low trust environment. Although less antagonistic cultures of (drug) sharing within prisons have also been documented (Mjåland, 2014;see also: Sandøy, 2015). Drug supply and dealing in prisons are therefore understood as more than simply economic activities.…”