THE Minister for Justice has suggested a special prison for drug addicts, where all prisoners could receive treatment. Mrs Owen said yesterday there was a need for a "properly structured drug treatment secure unit" to which judges could send convicted addicts. Some jails had a "hard core" of addicts "constantly coming in" and it made sense to try to treat them in a special jail.
Government ministers have previously argued against such a jail, and it is not included in the prison building programme. But the Minister said a "critical mass" of addicts had now built up and there was a need to re-examine the idea.
