ISSUE NO. 19
February 2026
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Letters

There Are No Friends in Drugs

By
Michelle

Michelle writes from a prison in WA.

Tymofii Tarasov via Unsplash

To the About Time newspaper team,

My name is Michelle, this is my second time in prison. I’m 30 years old from W.A.

At the start of this prison leg, I struggled with the harsh reality (that I knew right from the start) that there are no friends in drugs. I’m currently in prison for drug offending and the people I spent most of my time with before incarceration were drug buddies. In the early days of this leg I wrote this:

There are no friends in drugs.

One of the hardest lessons, from being part of the drug scene then going to prison, is the feeling of loneliness, withdrawing and coming down, you miss your mates.

You forget that during your early days on the drugs, you always told yourself, “these people are not my friends.”

Time goes by, you call them mates and you forget what you said at the start.

Now you’re in jail, life goes on, you know you’ll be forgotten.

Remember right at the start, you knew it was only for the drugs.

You try to make contact, not knowing why, it’s still sad, when you realise, you’ve been forgotten. Your “mates” have moved on; but you’re still here.

After all, right at the start, remember you told yourself:

These people are not your friends. Cos there are no friends in drugs.

Thank you for taking the time to read my letter.

To the About Time newspaper team,

My name is Michelle, this is my second time in prison. I’m 30 years old from W.A.

At the start of this prison leg, I struggled with the harsh reality (that I knew right from the start) that there are no friends in drugs. I’m currently in prison for drug offending and the people I spent most of my time with before incarceration were drug buddies. In the early days of this leg I wrote this:

There are no friends in drugs.

One of the hardest lessons, from being part of the drug scene then going to prison, is the feeling of loneliness, withdrawing and coming down, you miss your mates.

You forget that during your early days on the drugs, you always told yourself, “these people are not my friends.”

Time goes by, you call them mates and you forget what you said at the start.

Now you’re in jail, life goes on, you know you’ll be forgotten.

Remember right at the start, you knew it was only for the drugs.

You try to make contact, not knowing why, it’s still sad, when you realise, you’ve been forgotten. Your “mates” have moved on; but you’re still here.

After all, right at the start, remember you told yourself:

These people are not your friends. Cos there are no friends in drugs.

Thank you for taking the time to read my letter.

Lessons from Bees

By Muhamed

Prison teaches people to hold back. To keep to themselves. To give as little as possible. To protect what little energy or hope they have left. When everything feels limited – time, freedom, trust – it makes sense to think that giving more will leave you with less. But the bee lives by a different rule.

Letters

ISSUE NO. 22

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Albany Prisoners on Lockdowns

By Prisoners at Albany Prison, WA

We are not sure who to write to or who we can talk to about theses matters. We are hoping someone reads our letter and can point us in the right direction to have our voices heard.

Letters

ISSUE NO. 22

1 MIN READ

Rights for Foreign Prisoners

By Luiing

If foreign prisoners have been sentenced under same law as Australians, then it’s extremely important that they have right to be treat equally in their imprisonment – on humanitarian grounds.

Letters

ISSUE NO. 22

2 MIN READ

Not Cool: Heat and Overcrowding in TMCC

By Dane

The following is in response to the article by Denham Sadler titled “Sweltering Behind Bars: Stifling Heat in Australian prisons”.

Letters

ISSUE NO. 22

2 MIN READ

Welcome to About Time

About Time is the national newspaper for Australian prisons and detention facilities

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