{"id":874362,"date":"2026-04-05T20:14:35","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T20:14:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/874362\/"},"modified":"2026-04-05T20:14:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T20:14:35","slug":"barlinnie-prisoner-reveals-scotlands-spiralling-jail-drug-crisis-leaves-lags-out-of-their-nut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/874362\/","title":{"rendered":"Barlinnie prisoner reveals Scotland’s spiralling jail drug crisis leaves lags ‘out of their nut’"},"content":{"rendered":"

John Fanning described the prison as a “two-star hotel” where everything is bought for you.<\/p>\n

04:30, 05 Apr 2026Updated 08:39, 05 Apr 2026<\/p>\n

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Barlinnie prisoner, JP(Image: CREDIT LINE:Friel Kean Films)<\/p>\n

A Barlinnie<\/a> prisoner has lifted the lid on Scotland\u2019s spiralling drug crisis <\/a>behind bars claiming inmates are routinely \u201cright out of their nut\u201d to get through the day. John Fanning, known as JP, a 28-year-old convict serving a three-year sentence for assault and robbery, described the jail as a \u201ctwo-star hotel\u201d where everything is bought for you and has said he expects to die in the institution.<\/p>\n

He is one of a number of cons interviewed for a shocking new BBC documentary series which follows the lives of inmates battling addiction amid a flood of illegal substances<\/a> while serving time in the country\u2019s largest and most infamous jail.<\/a> The Victorian-age Glasgow prison<\/a> is crammed with over 1400 inmates across five halls where prisoners share cells and can be locked behind cell doors for up to 23 hours a day.<\/p>\n

Against this backdrop, cons and staff battle to cope in an overcrowded system under strain. Bar-L is due to be replaced by over budget HMP Glasgow in 2028, three years later than planned.<\/p>\n

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HMP Barlinnie(Image: CREDIT LINE:Friel Kean Films)<\/p>\n

Viewers will see JP\u2019s on-going struggle to stay sober against a backdrop of abuse, trauma and drugs<\/a>. The addict who began smoking crack at 13 and taking heroin at 15, said: \u201cSome people can go through their whole lives without a chemical substance but I\u2019ve got far too many problems to stay 100 per cent sober.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish we didn\u2019t have to get out our nut to just get through one day but look at what we\u2019re dealing with in here. It\u2019s easier for me in here than out there.<\/p>\n

“I was homeless, had nowhere to go, just had to do mad stuff to get by like rob Greggs just to eat. In here I get a bed, don\u2019t have to pay any bills. Everything is basically brought to you.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople say it\u2019s brutal being locked up but this is a two-star hotel to me. I\u2019ve been locked up my full life. I\u2019ve been in homes since I was two months old, I\u2019m a product of the care system.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just one of these people, I\u2019ll get out and come back here. That\u2019s just my life. I\u2019ll probably die in the jail and I\u2019ve made peace with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Barlinnie prisoner, JP talks about his ongoing battle with addiction (Image: CREDIT LINE:Friel Kean Films)<\/p>\n

The first hour-long episode shows JP being reprimanded by staff after being caught using. He was later taken to hospital, where medics battled to save his life after he overdosed on a \u2018legal\u2019 infused vape in the exercise yard.<\/p>\n

The episode also featured 30-year-old Norry Broadley, who is serving 18 months for assault. Norry, who has used for most of his time inside and overdosed said: \u201cI smoked a bit of legal and was found dead behind my cell door.<\/p>\n

“I don\u2019t know for how long but maybe 20 or 30 minutes \u2013 the staff thought I was gone. I woke up to find doctors and an ambulance which scared me.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m trying to stay off it but it\u2019s really hard. It\u2019s an escape for me, why I take drink and drugs, just to escape from the world. But when I sober up and come to reality I\u2019m reliving it again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The inside of HMP Barlinnie in Glasgow(Image: SWNS)<\/p>\n

After attempting suicide in the past, Norry is later transferred to a safe cell for the night after threatening self-harm. He said: \u201cI\u2019m having a hard time just now, I\u2019m back on the drugs and I\u2019m just out the suicide gaff because I was in a bad way last night.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t going to carry it through, I just needed someone to talk to. I need the help, my nine lives are running out.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not doing anything to me but killing me. My body is rejecting it, whereas I\u2019m like but \u2018I want it in my system.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m fighting a losing battle. I hope they can put something in place for me because I\u2019ll just be stupid and no matter how many times they find me dead, I\u2019ll still take it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Barlinnie prisoner Norry(Image: CREDIT LINE:Friel Kean Films)<\/p>\n

The series also sees prisoner Ryan Grace, or RJ, one of the most violent prisoners in the system having been moved from jail to jail due to his violent behaviour. RJ, who is serving two and a half years for a slashing, has been clean for 14 months.<\/p>\n

After ditching drugs he hasn\u2019t had any fights and is trying to turn his life around. That is thanks to the Recovery cafe, a weekly support group run by charity Sisco helping prisonersto get clean, and also a Bible study class.<\/p>\n

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Barlinnie inmate RJ(Image: HANDOUT)<\/p>\n

However RJ\u2019s high court case for an outstanding matter involving a former partner is forced to be rescheduled when he is deemed unfit for trial after taking a \u2018legal\u2019 filled vape on the way to court. Earlier this year, new figures revealed only 48 out of around 8200 prisoners in Scotland\u2019s jails had participated in a \u2018flagship\u2019 scheme to help them beat drug and alcohol addiction.<\/p>\n

Inside Barlinnie lays bare how rife illicit subtances are in a decade-long rise in drug use and deaths since psychoactive sub-stances, or \u2018legal\u2019 highs, started flooding in.<\/p>\n

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Mick Stoney, Governor of Barlinnie (Image: CREDIT LINE:Friel Kean Films)<\/p>\n

Barlinnie governor <\/a>Mick Stoney reveals: \u201cIt\u2019s a constant battle to keep drugs out through visits, throw-overs, and drones. The hardest thing is the huge unpredictably, some-one could take something that sends them over the edge and therefore present as violent, aggressive or psychotic and staff are having to try and control that individual.\u201d<\/p>\n