Texas prisons just banned hardback and used books. Inmates were allegedly getting high off the pages

Texas has issued a new state policy that prohibits inmates from receiving used and hardback books. The decision came after the Texas Department of Criminal Justice found that 385 books entering prisons across the state tested positive for synthetic drugs.

According to a report by Texas Tribune, the pages of those books contained traces of meth, marijuana, PCP, fentanyl, and other substances. Reportedly, these drugs were being dissolved into liquid form and sprayed onto books so inmates could later sniff them after receiving the packages. As one would expect, this major policy decision has not come without significant pushback.

Lately, civil rights groups have pointed to several other examples of prisons across the United States failing to properly care for inmates. One case that captured national sympathy involved a woman in Alabama who reportedly went into labor while incarcerated, but guards allegedly refused to help her get to a hospital.

The inmate was left to fend for herself on the prison floor throughout the night, receiving assistance only from fellow inmates. She nearly lost her infant and is now suing the prison. There was also another case in California where a women’s prison became notorious for guards sexually assaulting inmates. That scandal resulted in multiple convictions, lawsuits, and eventually the permanent closure of the facility itself.

The Texas Freedom to Read Project has emerged as one of the leading groups opposing the policy, warning that the restrictions could create another harmful situation altogether. According to the Texas Tribune, the organization’s co-founder, Laney Hawes, said, “My concern is that they are restricting access to really, really important things, information, ideas to prisoners as a way to say they’re doing something.”

The TDCJ announced that beginning in April, any donated books sent to Texas prisons would instead be redirected to the Windham School District, which provides educational services to inmates. TDCJ Director of Classification and Records Timothy Fitzpatrick said, “This is literally a matter of life and death for us here at the agency. We had to look at every single step that we could take to prevent that dangerous contraband from coming in, taking more lives and hurting more folks, and that’s both staff and incarcerated individuals.”

In 2025 alone, inmates suffered 120 overdoses. While there is still no public record showing how many of those overdoses were directly connected to contaminated books, it is clear that prison officials want to make it as difficult as possible for inmates to gain access to drugs in any form.

According to the Texas Tribune, Inside Books Project released a statement through its coordinator, Scott Odierno, arguing that the organization already closely inspects its books for contraband before shipment. Per the Texas Tribune, some advocates have gone as far as describing the policy as simply another book ban in disguise.

The Texas prison system has previously banned internationally acclaimed works such as The Color Purple by Alice Walker. Individual book bans are nothing new within Texas prisons — but a blanket ban on used and hardback books is unprecedented.