[Identifying psychoactive substance use among new prison detainees].

Consumption of psychoactive substances is widespread among prison detainees. This represents not only a public health problem but also a barrier to rehabilitation. Too few resources are devoted to this issue in France. We conducted a pilot study of psychoactive substance use among new prison entrants, in order to guide their therapeutic management. Tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, opiates and medicinal drugs were used daily by respectively 81%, 29%, 23%, 14% and l3% of study participants. Brief interventions targeted users of tobacco (92%), alcohol (25%), cannabis (65%), cocaine (67%) and opiates (56%)? These results encourage us to systematically identify substance use among new detainees in order to offer optimal support aimed and to facilitate their rehabilitation. Given the lack of specialized care, brief interventions may be an interesting option but they must be adapted to the specificities of this population.