CANTON — A St. Lawrence County jail inmate faces charges after he allegedly was caught hiding drugs inside an erotic novel.

Jason A. Carter, 29, was found in possession of Suboxone strips tucked into a paperback copy of “Fifty Shades of Grey,” St. Lawrence County Sheriff’s deputies said.

The 2011 novel, by British author E.L. James, has sold more than 60 million copies and generated worldwide controversy over its tale of the complex romance between a young woman and a wealthy businessman with a taste for bondage, domination and sadomasochistic sex. Debate has raged over the quality of the novel’s prose, originality and its depiction of a woman asking to be beaten and punished by her lover.

Mr. Carter allegedly used the book to conceal strips of Suboxone, a medication used to treat dependence on opioid drugs. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Suboxone is available only by prescription and “can be dispensed only in a limited number of clinics that specialize in addiction treatment.”

Deputies did not indicate how Mr. Carter may have obtained the medication or the book.

Mr. Carter was charged with one felony count of first-degree promoting prison contraband and a single misdemeanor count of seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. He was arraigned before Canton Justice Cathleen E. O’Horo and held without bail pending further proceedings.

Officials said he was initially committed to the facility for allegedly violating his probation on a previous drug-related conviction.

Thousands of readers like you have made Northern New York Newspapers the number one ranked website* for local news and sports coverage in the north country.

You can continue on to this article in a few seconds, or you can visit one of our websites:

• Watertown Daily Times
• The Ogdensburg Journal
• Daily Courier-Observer