NSW jails have no strategy to deal with surging drug use, inquiry told

New South Wales ice inquiry hears that corrections department has no 'overall strategy' and is 'steadfastly opposed' to needle exchange

The department responsible for managing New South Wales' ballooning prison population has "no overall drug strategy" and remains "steadfastly opposed" to a needle exchange program in jails, despite the urging of health officials.

On Monday a government-commissioned inquiry into ice and other amphetamines turned its attention to drug use among inmates, hearing that as the state's prison population has exploded, so too has the use of illicit drugs in jails.