‘It's No Time or High Time’: Young Offenders' Experiences of Time and Drug Use in Prison

Article: This article explores perspectives of time amongst young male inmates in prison and reflects on their cannabis use as a strategy that enabled them to manage their long sentences. The article considers the theoretical foundations of time and its association with punishment and prison, arguing that prison time is conceptually distinct from experiences of time outside prison. The overt external control over inmates' time and the limited resources available to make time ‘flow’ means time is experienced consciously in prison. This experience of time influenced the significance and function of the inmates' cannabis use, which helped them to control and manipulate the passing of their sentence.