Drug Use Up In Prisons With Intensive Programs

(AP) — Drug use appears to have increased since California began a multimillion-dollar program to keep illicit drugs from reaching state prisons.

A legislative analysis found that positive drug test results went up after the program began in 2014, along with sometimes related problems like assaults on guards.

The Associated Press first reported last year that the corrections department could not demonstrate the program's effectiveness.

A corrections department spokeswoman and an independent analyst say it is too soon to draw conclusions.

But the bad news prompted lawmakers to cancel a planned $8 million expansion. Lawmakers ultimately agreed to provide $5 million in the budget that takes effect Friday.

The goal is to use drug-sniffing dogs and airport-style scanners to combat smuggling that has California inmates dying of overdoses at nearly five times the national rate.