Investigating the perception and lived experiences of prisoners on the causes of the increase in drug crimes: a qualitative study

In the present study, the perception and lived experiences of prisoners on the causes of the increase in drug crimes in South Khorasan were investigated qualitatively and phenomenologically. According to the nature of the research, the purposeful sampling method of criterion type was used, and with the detailed interview of 15 people, the obtained data reached saturation. The data obtained from the life experiences of drug inmates were analyzed using the method of Colaizy (2002) and MAXQDA11 software was used as a data analysis tool. The findings from the lived experiences of the prisoners were categorized into 4 main themes: "social and cultural factors", "political and security factors", "economic factors" and "personal and individual factors", each of the main themes has different sub-themes. . In general, the experiences of drug-related prisoners in South Khorasan show that drug-related crimes are increasing every day due to the stated reasons, and the number of prisoners is increasing, and plans should be devised according to each of the reasons for the increase, so that this upward trend is reduced. so that the society does not suffer possible damages.