US prisoners cannot have cash, so they use commodities as currency. Cigarettes were popular until banned in 2014, now canned mackerel is commonly used. Other currencies include postage stamps, energy bars, and instant coffee. The US has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with a disproportionate number of African American prisoners.
Prisoners in the United States must have a currency other than money because they cannot have cash. Currency is usually a readily available commodity at commissariats which are prison shops selling essential commodities. Before 2004, the currency of choice was cigarettes. But commissioners in US federal prisons stopped selling tobacco products after 2004. Smoking and possession of tobacco in prisons was banned in 2014. Since the emergence of policies that restrict and subsequently ban tobacco use in prison , US prisoners now commonly use canned mackerel as currency. Bags of mackerel were a natural fit as currency for inmates since a single bag costs about $1. Inmates barely eat the fish, they use it to buy other goods or services. Some other popular currencies in US prisons are postage stamps, energy bars and instant coffee. Meanwhile, the formerly preferred currency, tobacco, has become a black-market prize for prisons.
Read more about US prisons:
As of 2011, the United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with 734 people per 100,000.
Nearly all inmates in the United States are male. About 7% of prisoners are women.
The number of African American prisoners is disproportionately high in the United States. As of 2011, 1 in 9 black men between the ages of 20 and 34 were believed to be in prison.
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