Prisoner welcomes jail

A woman who once believed drugs were her "best friend" now claims to be glad she got "busted" and sentenced to jail.

"Gina", whose real name has been withheld for privacy reasons, was just 12-years-old when she became seriously addicted to drugs.

She never knew her father, her mother left when she was 10 and she was left to raise her brother and sister and suffer sexual abuse at the hands of an uncle.

It was "a lot of responsibility with no guidance," she told NZPA in Arohata Women's Prison near Wellington today.

At the end of seven months in the prison's drug treatment unit (DTU) Gina realises she felt "paralysed" by her addiction.

"I wanted better things but I didn't realise until now that it was the drugs that were stopping me."

Gina said she was "glad I got busted" or she would "still be doing the same thing".

Not fussy, Gina would take any drug she could get and when she entered prison weighed just 43kg.

Now 20kg heavier she claims to have a "clear head" and no desire to return to using.

"It's a bummer it took this for me to realise.

"I'd been screaming out for help for years (through her actions)."

People often do not realise they have a problem until they land in court and Gina believes on first offences people should be sentenced to rehabilitation before a custodial sentence.

Like Gina, Dolly (also a fake name) has completed nearly seven months in the Arohata DTU course.

Dolly was raped at 14, gang raped at 16 and sexually abused regularly in between.

Her drug use began with marijuana but she gradually progressed onto stronger stuff. Shortly before ending up in prison she was using methamphetamine.

Dolly had to move away from her family and support network in Christchurch to complete the DTU rehabilitation course but now sees that as a small sacrifice.

She said she would return to her children, when released in October, a clean woman.

"Through this programme I've been able to deal with things, able to let go."

She said she discovered that she was not alone and learnt ways to deal with stress other than taking drugs.

In prison Dolly ended 27 years of drug abuse and said she would create a "totally different" environment for herself when she left.

She has vowed to attend narcotics anonymous meetings and to abstain from drugs and alcohol for the rest of her life.

The women graduate from the DTU on Monday.

The course involves recognising the problem, working on the it and then planning a prisoner's reintegration into society on release from prison.

It uses group and one-on-one therapy, cognitive behaviour theory, education and skills training.

Also in Tawa's Arohata Prison today, although for a shorter stay, was Corrections Minister Judith Collins.

In launching her department's five-year drug and alcohol strategy, Ms Collins said New Zealand needed to start addressing the factors that put people in prison.

Alcohol and drugs were the most common themes in offending, she said.

As part of the strategy Corrections will open three new DTUs and continue to focus on reducing the availability of drugs in prisons.

- NZPA