Massive Administration of Substances in Greek prisons —by Savvas Xiros

Introduction

In my new book, extracts of which follow, an outline of the drug command of all prisoners in Greek prisons by cognitive degrading is attempted. My experience I have gained from psychotropic substance administration has proven useful for the writing of this book – “with rape and rape of will” – throughout my 65 day accommodation in the intensive care unit, where modern and not only questioning methods were applied. The experience of other drug substances I was given from the 13 surgeons I’ve been submitted to after the bomb’s explosion in my own hands in 2002, since today also helped my writing.

The purpose of this book is the transmission of my personal experience to the rest of prisoners, hoping it will become the rise for discussion or even for thought and reflection to the matter of psychotropic substances in prisons and mainly for the increasing occurrence this reality has taken on.

At this very moment psychotropic substance administration tends to be established as the main method of keeping prisoners docile, according to the overseas morality and economic perceptions under which medical science is also instructed. The alibi of such practice is hidden behind the general fictional belief that substance use is one of the prisoner’s main characteristic that stems from their personal will and only this. This argument is ignoring a basic parameter that the will of prisoners is blackmailed everyday and in many ways from a prison system whose main pursuit is the attenuation of personality and the configuration of character according to the established standards of prison. By the specific standards the ideal prisoner is the one with fewer demands and less demands is a vapid and so willing prisoner.

The perpetuation of this morbid situation contributed to the subconscious prevailing perception on prison, not only for deprivation or freedom- as its predetermined and remains in paperwork- but of a prison hell, where the harder and more inhumane the living is, the more deterrent will effectively function against the prospective infringer. One understanding of the exemplary and representative predatory punishment for knowledge and compliance of the rest, logic that is not confessed though, submitted silently to the society in order to have tolerance or at the most, mediocre reactions such as the one presented here.

In a realistic look the way of design and function of modern prisons in developed countries, effortlessly produces the conclusion that they are impossible to exist in this specific form without psychotropic administration. Not the limited area legal-clear and necessary, but the illegal-implicit and mass administration, a practice that is cornerstone of the modern prison structure.

Therefore there is ground, there is a possibility and mostly a very serious reason to hit in every way this powerful yet so sensitive point of the system.

Discovery

As is seen from a number of observations, in prisons, apart from the preventative drug scheme, imposed via psycho tropics is a mild general repression in calm periods, that magnifies itself in suspicion of revolts and in any “temporary need” as it happened during the period of political trials. This specific way of thinking is imprinted in the kept archives of the surgery of judicial prisons of Koridallos.

In these books, at the beginning of autumn 2004 there were approximately 750 prisoners with psychotropic treatment .in a period of one month, during the hunger strike of political prisoners against prison conditions, the number of those almost tripled to a total of about 2500, “patients” suddenly climbed from one in five to one in two. No epidemiological or other study can justify such a flare of psychopathies in such a short period – what was this shocking factor? – but only the unscrupulous biochemical repression in order to avoid these kind of issues. Most substances are undeclared and massively distributed through nutrition and in water. In a test run, after evaporating 4.5 litres of water in low temperature (using radiator heat) an important quantity of viscous brown/yellow fluid that vented an odour somewhere between varnish and unused plastic, e.g. cellophane [.] Active substances, like minor or major tranquilisers, granted with “good” foods, regularly or occasionally with added tempting dishes in periods where increased suppression is demanded. This was found when a cat became lethargic after consumption of Sunday lunch. On shifter her she continued sleeping with no response, while the same happened again at different times with different cats. “The substances granted with bread have been certified by the behaviour of pigeons. Grated bread is frequently placed in the courtyard of the wing for the birds. Pigeons who come down full of vitality, after eating the bread seem like dizzy chicken, while they give great effort to fly, they only hit into the walls and the fences because this specific substance brings about Mydriasis (excessive dilation of the pupil). An everyday feature of the area inside and around, within and outside Korydallos prisons is the collection of prison corpses from both prisoners and residents”. The invisible administration of substances is also confirmed and is noted that prisoners do not get ill catching colds or other common illnesses that affect the rest of the population but from polypharmacy syndrome, including hyper liver (hepatitis pharmaceutical), sub function of kidneys, rare disease and infections, skin diseases, allergies and heart attacks or strokes. [..]

The massive and prolonged administration of those substances because of the permanent and internal swelling results in the affection of the noble organs, lungs, heart, brain etc, while the cardiovascular disorders they bring about are responsible for the more than usual numbers of strokes and heart attacks that happen in prisons”.

Addiction Method

The prolonged administration of substances to healthy and unhealthy persons, and the absence for the latter of personalised and coordinated/routined and quantified dosages contributes to the appearance of rashes, skin diseases or other apparently unjustified symptoms. Then from the prison an effort is routed towards the administration of pharmaceutical substances whilst theoretically from the willing subject. “particularly contributing to this fact is the treatment of the medical service and especially from the neurological and psychiatric domain, and if a new prisoner during the beginning of the first signs and symptoms visit’s the surgery of the prison, this is recorded, and what follows as a diagnosis is the permanent manipulation of the psyche, where if he submits he enters into an addiction programme. So by voluntary reception of even the mild sedatives, the prison will renounce any responsibility even in case of death (e.g. overdose, suction, sedatives, pulmonary swelling etc)”. One in three of about 13000 prisoners in Greek prisons are convicted for infringement of the drug law. “The drug using prisoners, especially the addicted ones, who don’t correspond to the above percentage, are the absolute alibi of the prisons for the deaths from pharmaceutical substance overdose. In their majority they are victims, and because on an probable use of drugs inside the prison, their toxicity will be counted alongside with this of the unknown substances and the substances prisoners were administrated in ignorance.

Enlistment of Science

As for the central nervous system and cognitive function, the main pursuit of the last is the discount and slowness of cognitive reactions that has as a first visible consequence “difficulty in concentration and decision making”. For the disguise and legalisation of the biochemical suppression, known individual syndromes of the psychiatric sciences are enlisted that are arbitrarily generalised or even reversed. An expert psychiatrist in his testimony in the court states, “this of course is excused absolutely by the fact that (the writer) is a prisoner. At least half of the prisoners have those symptoms”. (Remarkable is the cynicism with which psychiatry and pharmacology are used by the system, in a way that known/existed syndromes are extended and enforced in a number of more than 6,500 prisoners who have no possibility of any defence themselves. Even if some have alleged that this is happening independently from psycho tropics administration or not, the truth is material conditions of the prisons, besides the mass rage, do not justify a diversion of such direction and extent. Therefore a prejudice perception is imposed on the outsider for the totality of prisoners, under the light of which is considered, on one hand normal what a prisoner is obliged to be or endure without protest and on the other hand what is considered as a fact a low education and an inability that automatically and without question classifies him with the failed and scum of society.

Psychotropic Effects

For a visitor, who will judge the behaviour of the prisoners out of the dominating prejudices, the suppression of cognition becomes clear and is generally manifested in common features such as resignation image (indifference and procrastination), loud talks (epidermal subjects, no awareness reality), lateness in walking and in reactions (reduced reflexes) and in interviews, having demands and questions of tertiary or low importance and everyday problems (incapability of assessing priorities)”. Among the impacts in the CNS is observed a decrease in critical understanding and creative thinking. In the extreme manifestation of the symptom, the mind works only in basic relay with the facts of the permanent memory, while every possible initiative is dominated by insecurity. Then, for every decision, either a “consultant” or too much time is required or else intuition is used. In this last case, for any objection there is inability to find arguments- creative thinking- a cause that leads to irritability and reactions full of rage, which feed and are also fed by the ego of an unknown fictional self.

The downgrade of the judgemental perception and the weakness of concentration, in accordance of the weakening of direct and recent memory, leads to discomfort and impatience during conversations in matters where initiative or decision is required and constant interruptions in communication in order to not loose the argument from the memory, resulting in irritability, miscommunication and misunderstanding, since in this case everybody hears only their own voice. Those symptoms are not manifested in compatible and established issues (such as football or any kind of standard dialogue), that require creative thinking, thus limiting the subject of conversations, resulting in the showing of a premeditated, modern, invisible isolation [.].

The specific bastard mental state and the awareness of real opportunities-weaknesses, leads to heated wreck less decisions that bind future choices in the name of a superficial seriousness.

The appeal of such decisions after the understanding of their consequences – a slow procedure – is now dependent upon the size of the ego.

The above method absolutely responds to the logic of the inspirers of modern prisons and white cell instigators in the insane logic of the sneaky vindictiveness- with always a humanitarian cover- and also the outrageous exploitation of the consequences of the method, when they are presented either as known syndromes, transporting the responsibility to the victim, either interpreted with psychiatric terms- physiognomist grace- as it happened in Germany with U.Meinhof when it was found that she had a tumour in the brain- considering delinquency as an innate capacity of every prisoner and so every prisoner is dominated by lower instincts and is rightly cut off with biochemical means from reality or deprived of any activity and the state rightly consider them lesser beings. A logic that ends in the prevailing prejudice perception projected onto anyone and for any reason who passes the gate of prison captivity, perception that asserts itself one way or another onto society as well.

Koridallos prisons
Savvas Xiros
1st May 2009