Prison has proven to be a suitable environment for the identification of various socio-demographic
characteristics of those individuals whose drug use, or related crimes lead to incarceration. Furthermore, the
prison environment could also support increased understanding of both the pattern and the relationship between
drug use and the incidence of crime and deviances. Using the survey method, this study examines the
socio-demographic features of 2200 prisoners in seven provinces of Iran. More specifically; drug abuse patterns
and the relationship among addiction, crime prevalence, and some personal as well as socio-demographic
characteristics were studied. According to the findings, characteristics such as age, education level, economic
status, urban and/or rural status, all have an effects on the rate of drug use and, on crime commitment and its
re-occurrence. Accordingly, younger age, lower socioeconomic status and urban residence showed a relationship
with tendency to commit crime and repeat it while employment had no significant effect.