The enormity of Sri Lanka’s drug problem and the resulting overcrowding in its prisons represent a critical crisis at the intersection of law enforcement, rehabilitation, and human rights. 

In 2025 alone, the Police conducted a staggering 164,785 raids seizing 17,647 kg of narcotics and over 3.5 million pills, leading to the arrest of more than 164,000 individuals. Yet this enforcement effort places enormous strain on the country’s correctional and rehabilitation systems – systems that are not currently equipped to handle the challenges posed by the scale of drug-related offences.

A nation under siege: The scale of drug enforcement in 2025

The figures released by the Police lay bare the extent of narcotics trafficking and usage fuelling Sri Lanka’s social problems. From large quantities of methamphetamines and heroin to cocaine, and pharmaceuticals, the range and volume of drugs intercepted are massive:

• Heroin: 1,243 kg confiscated over 50,100 raids, with 50,059 accused arrested
• Marijuana: 14,057 kg seized in 52,417 raids, 52,238 accused
• Methamphetamine: 1,845 kg seized in 58,588 raids, 58,567 accused
• Hashish: 472.6 kg in 1,175 raids, 1,100 accused
• Cocaine: 29.5 kg in 80 raids, 75 accused
• Pharmaceutical pills: 3,567,304 pills confiscated over 2,425 raids, 2,386 accused

Such widespread drug proliferation has massive implications for public health, law and order, and the justice system, all of which intersect in Sri Lanka’s prisons.

Overcrowding: A system beyond breaking point

Committee for Protecting Rights of Prisoners (CPRP) President Attorney-at-Law Senaka Perera paints an alarming picture. “There are close to 34,000 prisoners and it is far exceeding the capacities of the prisons,” he said. Sri Lanka’s 36 prisons combined hold roughly 10,500 inmates by design, creating a situation where the number of prisoners is more than triple the system capacity.

Perera emphasised the life-threatening conditions created by this overcrowding: “This goes beyond the premise that prisoners are human beings because of the conditions they have to endure while incarcerated. We discussed this with the Minister as well; the situation is akin to when a ball explodes because it is continuously pumped with air beyond its limits. That is what is happening to our prisons.”

The magnitude of overcrowding precipitates not only inhumane living conditions, but also the breakdown of rehabilitative processes crucial for addressing drug addictions and recidivism.

The drug problem within prisons: The vicious cycle

Drug-related offences constitute a staggering 60% of the prison population – a statistic Perera highlights as central to the crisis. These inmates are overwhelmingly addicts trapped in a cycle of incarceration, release, relapse into drug abuse, and re-arrest.

“Around 50% of prisoners who are let out end up becoming incarcerated and this is because a majority of them are drug addicts,” Perera stated bluntly. 

The root problem is the absence of effective rehabilitation programmes. “There isn’t a proper system of rehabilitation for drug addicts. Rehabilitation programmes that are being conducted are outdated and impractical.”

Currently, rehabilitation is mostly limited to incarceration for a court-ordered period, after which the individual is released without adequate treatment. Perera described this approach as “a vicious cycle… they once again seek out drugs, make the same mistakes, and end up back in prison”.

Failings of current rehabilitation models

The shortcomings of Sri Lanka’s drug rehabilitation centres are stark. Citing the Kandakadu Rehabilitation Centre run by the Army, Perera lamented: “Prisoners are ‘rehabilitated’ by doing Army drills. This does nothing for an addict as it does not take away his addiction.”

He advocated for a holistic rehabilitation model that addressed medical, psychological, and physiological treatment, noting: “Rehabilitation for drug addicts has to be a comprehensive programme taking into account medical, psychological and physiological aspects of those abusing drugs. Our State-run rehabilitation centres simply do not provide such programmes.”

Furthermore, Perera advocated for a robust follow-up scheme post-release, pointing to Australia’s model where aftercare was routine. He said: “An addict who has concluded their rehabilitation or a former addict who is reintroduced into society will have someone from the rehabilitation centre check up on him or her regularly to ensure that he or she is staying clean, being productive, engaging in employment, and is successfully reintegrated into society.”

Calls for systemwide reforms

The CPRP has met with the Minister of Justice and presented recommendations for fundamental reforms across the prison system and rehabilitation sector. The report proposes a two-pronged approach: short-term interventions to alleviate overcrowding and improve drug rehabilitation, alongside long-term measures to enhance education, vocational training, mental health, and prison staff welfare.

“The report calls for reforms to reduce overcrowding through immediate actions such as specialised rehabilitation centres for narcotic offenders and legal process improvements, as well as long-term measures focusing on education, vocational training, mental well-being, and improved conditions for prison officers,” the CPRP outlines.

At the heart of these reforms is a renewed emphasis on rehabilitation as the key to reintegrating former prisoners and breaking the incarceration cycle.

“Rehabilitation is emphasised as key to reintegration, with focus on counselling, skill development, and mental health. It also stresses the importance of accountability in prison administration and improved working conditions and motivation for officers.”

Father Jude Bernard of the Miduma Rehabilitation Centre brings two decades of hands-on experience and a vision for human-centred addiction treatment.

“I’m speaking from 20 years of experience. We need more private centres,” he began, but quickly cautioned: “Even though private centres exist, running them as large-scale private sector operations with hundreds of patients is not practical.”

Father Bernard advocated for smaller centres with about 40 individuals maximum to foster family-like support, explaining that “everyone helps each other… So having about 40 people in one centre is very good and productive”. He noted with concern that “some private centres have even 150 patients,” which is counterproductive.

He centres his philosophy on the humane treatment of addicts as patients needing care and love, not legal punishment. He noted: “Someone who is addicted is essentially a patient. If they are a patient, then they should be treated like they are in a hospital. And in a hospital, what is most important for a patient — the medicine, or love and care? It’s only when love and care are present that the medicine works.”

His approach stresses voluntary admission, rather than forced treatment. “If we take a child by force to a centre, they won’t heal… You can’t drag them in by force.” He related this to his own experience with illness, noting that being forced to accept treatment bred resentment.

Even among voluntarily admitted addicts, initial resistance is common due to the overwhelming power of cravings. “For about a month, they live unwillingly. The craving for that substance is stronger than any other urge a human being has. To keep them with us, we need a huge amount of patience and love,” he said.

Father Bernard recounted the harsh reality of overcrowding even in rehabilitation centres, where addicts sometimes woke up displaced and pushed by others during the night, illustrating the vulnerability and hardship they faced.

Holistic healing and faith

Spirituality and personal effort form key parts of Miduma’s rehabilitation philosophy. 

“The very first thing we do in treatment is encourage the person to truly embrace their own religion. I believe that when someone recovers, it’s ultimately through their own faith and their own effort. What we do is simply like shining a torch to show them the path,” Father Bernard explained.

The centre’s flexible and caring admission policies allow new patients to rest as needed for the first 10 days. They apply traditional herbal remedies, massages, and encourage bathing up to four times daily. If patients struggle with sleep, mild medication (like paracetamol) is used sparingly.

Father Bernard reported positive turnaround in patients’ behaviour within just days, as they began to awaken early and engage in activities, but always only after voluntary admission.

Funding and efficiency: Private vs. Govt. centres

Addressing financial constraints, Father Bernard shared that a Government officer once told him the daily expenditure per inmate in a Polonnaruwa Government centre was about Rs. 600. Father Bernard believes the same work could be done more cost-effectively. “If they gave us Rs. 300, we could do the job better.”

He argued that private centres, supported under Government frameworks, could outperform State centres and pointed to the challenges in Government-run centres where the presence of unhealthy habits and illicit substances like tobacco and beedi remained, undermining rehabilitation efforts.

“If that money was given to a good private centre – one that’s properly supervised – it would achieve far more effective results,” Father Bernard said, stressing that centres must maintain a strict code banning violence, sex, and drugs. He warned about the risk of substituting addictions, noting that diazepam (Valium) and similar tablets could themselves become abused substances.

Prison officials speak: The realities from inside

Department of Prisons Media Spokesman and Commissioner Jagath Weerasinghe candidly acknowledged the crisis, noting: “There are 36 prisons in Sri Lanka and the maximum capacity is 10,500 but there are nearly 35,000 prisoners in the system at the moment. So we have a dangerous problem of overcrowding.”

He admitted that overcrowding made rehabilitation exceedingly difficult. “Even though we have the intention of rehabilitating prisoners, it has become a practical impossibility due to the massive overcrowding,” he said.

Highlighting the distinction between convicted prisoners and remandees, Weerasinghe explained that only about 9,000 had been convicted, while 25,000 were in remand, awaiting trial or sentencing. This creates barriers to rehabilitation since remandees need to attend court every 14 days and cannot be placed in separate rehabilitation centres.

“We have repeated proposals and recommendations to successive governments but nothing has been done to revamp and reform the prison system to address key issues such as overcrowding and drug rehabilitation,” Weerasinghe lamented.

He emphasised the cycle of drug abuse and incarceration enabled by inadequate rehabilitation. “They abuse drugs, then become incarcerated, and upon release go back to drugs and become convicts once again.”

Weerasinghe also stressed prevention through education, actively conducting over 400 awareness programmes about drugs and narcotics in schools across the country. “I believe it is vital that we educate the youth so that they don’t become drug addicts in the first place. That is one of the best ways to reduce the number of drug abusers in the country, in my opinion.”

The data and testimonies paint a dire picture: Sri Lanka’s prisons are overwhelmed beyond capacity, especially with narcotics-related arrests increasing demand on a system crippled by under-resourced rehabilitation. Without substantial reforms spanning policy, infrastructure, rehabilitation methodologies, and social reintegration support, the vicious cycle of addiction and incarceration is bound to continue.

Investing in smaller, specialised, and properly funded rehabilitation centres – run with compassion and medical rigour – is essential. Equally, improving prison conditions, legal processes, mental health services, and officer welfare are critical requisites for sustainable change.