Visit any federal prison, and this will be a typical greeting at the door. The Correctional Service of Canada, the government body that manages the federal penitentiaries in Canada, is tough on smuggling.

Julie Keravel is with the Correctional Service of Canada.

"80 per cent of our offenders, when they arrive, have some level of substance abuse. And their problems aren't any different than anybody else in society. Some have alcohol problems, others have cocaine, crack, even heroin problems. To address our problems, we have a two-prong approach. The first is our interdiction approach where we try to stop drugs from coming in. And the second approach is our intervention approach where we offer treatment programs to our offenders."

There are literally thousands of people coming and going through federal prisons each day. To reduce the smuggling of illegal substances inside the prisons, the Correctional Service uses state-of-the art detection tools such as the ion scanners and metal detectors. Detector dogs are also used, and trained to sit down when drugs are detected. Larry Stebbins is the Warden at Joyceville Institution in Ontario.

"Smuggling drugs into an institution creates a dangerous situation. Some offenders will share needles which leads to increases in the transmission of infectious diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis. From a security perspective, you have offenders who control the drug trade. They use intimidation, muscling, they assault offenders and they also coerce visitors to bring drugs into the institution which is very, very problematic."

But stopping the flow of drugs into federal prisons is only half of the equation. Substance abuse programs, methadone maintenance treatment, and initiatives like the Intensive Support Units play a major role in assisting offenders to kick the habit.

"We have substance abuse programs for all of our men and women in every facility across Canada. We're even developing programs that are specific for our aboriginal offenders. We offer Intensive Support Units that gives an inmate an opportunity to live in an environment that's alcohol and drug free."

Ennio Mike Stirpe is an inmate at Joyceville Institution who participates in the methadone program.

"Methadone has been a part of my life for the past 14 years. Without it, I really don't know where I'd be right now. It's helped me communicate better with my family. It's given me more of an insight into the actual damage that drugs can do."

For more information about the Correctional Service of Canada and its drug initiatives, visit the website www.csc-scc.gc.ca

Melanie Saunders reporting.