Two inmates have been hospitalised after a spate of drug overdoses inside Canberra's prison over the Christmas period.
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It is understood as many as four prisoners overdosed in the lead-up to Christmas, with at least one man taken to Canberra Hospital in a coma.
One of the two men who had been taken to hospital was a convicted murderer, two prison sources told Fairfax Media.
The spike in prison overdoses comes just seven months after inmate Mark Anthony O'Connor, 29, collapsed and died inside the Alexander Maconochie Centre.
Although it is not know which substances were involved in the latest overdoses, serious questions have again been raised about drug treatment programs inside the prison and the prevalence of prescription medication among inmates.
"The prescription drugs are getting more and more popular with buprenorphine and ice being rampant," said one source.
A toxicology report found that Mr O'Connor had a mix of buprenorphine and methamphetamine - commonly known as ice - in his system when he died on May 13, 2017.
Buprenorphine, like methadone, is a synthetic drug used to treat opiate addiction by preventing withdrawal and lowering cravings.
While methadone use is an accepted and widely practiced treatment, it can be dangerous if prescribed to someone who does not have a legitimate addiction.
A recent inquest into the death of Steven Freeman, an AMC inmate who died of a drug overdose in 2016, revealed he was admitted to the prison methadone program two days before he died despite having no record of heroin use.
An ACT government spokesman confirmed there had been a number of "medical incidents" inside the prison over the holidays, and that two inmates had been taken to hospital.
"Two of these incidents required hospital admittance as the result of suspected misuse of substances," the spokesman said.
"In response to each of these incidents, ACT Corrective Services' policies and procedures relating to medical incidents were followed appropriately."
Recent government statistics showed that more than a quarter of ACT prisoners were taking methadone, a figure almost three times the rate of other jurisdictions.
Data from a snapshot day in June 2016 showed methadone had been prescribed to 128 prisoners in the ACT.
In the same month data showed there were about 440 prisoners in the ACT, meaning as much as 29 per cent of the prison's total population was taking methadone.
ACT Health has previously said the higher rates of opioid replacement therapy, which included methadone, pointed to better access to treatment.
The justice directorate made a number of changes in the wake of Mr Freeman's death, including a new electronic methadone dosing system for inmates and reducing the initial starting dose for inmates from 30mg to 20mg.
A long-awaited review into the ACT's guidelines for methadone treatment, which began in 2012, is still yet to be completed despite health minister Meegan Fitzharris earlier this year saying it would be completed within six weeks.
An ACT government spokesman said it was an unfortunate reality that contraband still entered the prison.
"Intercepting prohibited or contraband items such as illicit drugs, drug paraphernalia and technology such as USBs and mobile phones is one of the most challenging functions undertaken by corrections agencies," he said.
"ACT Corrective Services works closely with ACT Policing in support of drug and contraband interdiction measures, including providing assistance with investigations and the ongoing exchange of information and intelligence."
