Here is a sample of weapons confiscated at the Sangamon County Jail, which I believe is in Illinois. These weapons were hard to conceal, but others are readily available. Shanks are commonly made out of toothbrushes, pencils, or a piece of anything that can be pryed or broken off jail fixtures and sharpened. Moreover, the amount of drug use in jail is staggering, suggesting tacit approval of jail staff. Most inmates have their wives smuggle drugs in (you can guess how), and while it extends a criminal heirarchy behind bars, there may be some utility in stoned inmates. One guy I know, who was in for assualting a cop (he took his gun away and threw it into the woods during a struggle)- was stoned out of his mind and standing by his cell. A huge guard came up and stood right beside him. The guard looked over and smiled, telling the guy "A stoned inmate is a happy inmate". Later that same guy got some of his weed stolen by an inmate who was using a sharpened toothbrush as a weapon. Ah, sweet revenge. Mr. "X" waited for the right moment. He then took the "D" cell batteries out of his radio and duct-taped them into a pair of leather gloves (that he used for work crew) and made them into heavy fistloads. He caught the weed thief and bashed the crap out of him until the guy was hurt pretty bad. I guess some things are worth a couple extra months on your sentence.
Back when you could still smoke tobacco in jail (in fact they handed out roll-your-own pouch tobacco), it was easy to put a pinch of pot in the first part of the cigarette, with the tobacco masking the smell.
I know there are readers out there who have been on both sides of the system.
What are your thoughts?
