Enabling?

In little more than the time it takes me to write these sentences, I can get a few different narcotics, a few bottles of home-made wine, some moonshine, a gambling ticket with odds for ALL the sports ball games for the week and lose all my money on one of several dice tables or card tables. By the time I've got all this, I could also be getting a tattoo. And Hep C. This is not new information to anyone in here inmates or staff.

By contrast, for 6 months, I've been trying to buy art supplies from the catalog the prison offers us for this purpose (and charges us 30% markup for their inconvenience). If I'm allowed to order them... that is, if they LET me buy supplies with my own money to further my progress as an artist, it could be months till I actually get them.

I've been trying to enroll in college at 2 separate prison complexes for THREE YEARS. Does anyone else see a problem here?