Chemical Shackles: psychotropic abuse in carceral states

Explain your research project

My research project focuses on the trends of psychotropic abuse in jails and prisons
in the United States since the early 1970’s, when the War on Drugs, as we know it, kicked into
gear and funneled millions into the carceral system. Around the same time, the Supreme Court
ruled over many landmark cases that determined the standard of treatment in carceral facilities,
some pertaining to healthcare overall, such as Estelle v. Gamble (1976), some specific to the use
of psychotropics, like Harper v. Washington (1990). Those were instrumental in crafting the
landscape of how psychotropics are administered in each state today. The goal of my project is to
analyze various state legislatures to see how they approach this issue differently, why the
differences occur, and the impact they have had in the past few decades. This is complemented
by archival research based on the American Prison Writing Archive hosted at Hopkins that delve
into personal accounts of encounters with psychotropic drugs in carceral settings.

How did you come to this work?

I first stumbled into the subject of health and incarceration while I was in a state prison. I
volunteer with the Goucher Prison Education Partnership and teach Algebra 1 and 2 for a few
hours every week. Through side conversations, I learned about the horrid conditions of
healthcare in that facility. Those stories left a deep impression and given my interest in medicine,
I was immediately drawn to this topic. Later, while writing a research paper for class, I read Life
Without Parole by Victor Hassine, in which he wrote about one acquaintance who was over-
medicated by psychotropics in prison, and it had completely transformed him in a negative way.
This was where the inspiration of the term “chemical shackles” came from. Finally, much of my
time at Hopkins were spent wrestling with neuroscience and the different biochemical changes
that drugs can introduce to the brain. I am excited to utilize a more scientific background to
analyze the social impact of medicine.

What resonated with you as you conducted your research? What were you most excited or surprised to find out?

Through reading many different state legislatures, I’ve also gained a profound
understanding and appreciation for the American political system. I didn’t have a chance to take
political science courses here, and my knowledge is limited to a high school government class
and whatever political content I consume through NPR and the New York Times. But spending
time reading lengthy law documents allowed me insight into the political structure of the United
States more than I could have expected before the start of this project.

Do you plan on continuing this work, or is this part of a larger project? If so, please explain.

This doesn’t mark the end of my interest and research in incarceration and health. There
are many ideas that I am excited to explore that are currently limited by my status as an
undergraduate student and by my experiences. Eventually, I would like to do ethnographic
research with those who participate in the carceral system, this means the probation and parole
officers, correctional officers, healthcare workers, and of course, the incarcerated individuals. I
would also like to work on a project that expands the traditional definition of the carceral
population, and work with undocumented immigrants at detention camps. Those are lofty goals, but it’s all to say that I see this experience as a valuable start to what’s hopefully a long career in
research and advocacy.