CCTV recordings over a five-day period showed 20 inmates at Maghaberry Prison did not leave their cells.
It said there were also major areas for improvement in the delivery of education, skills and work activities.
Jacqui Durkin, chief inspector of criminal justice in Northern Ireland, said: “Forty-one per cent of prisoners surveyed during this inspection indicated it was easy to get illicit drugs at Maghaberry and 28% said they had developed a drug problem while they were there.
“We found there was no effective or co-ordinated plan in place to reduce the demand for and supply of drugs and no means of assessing the effectiveness of actions taken.
“This needs to be addressed as a priority.”
The report identified a number of concerns regarding the prison, which included:
Evidence from that some Catholic prisoners had experienced prejudice from some staff members
A reluctance from officers to report colleagues for poor behaviour
Long waiting lists for important courses such as essential skills in information and communications technology and literacy
Staffing difficulties leading to inconsistent training
Poor access to psychologically-informed treatment services
Absence of an internal investigation to identify immediate learning following deaths in custody
Director General of the NI Prison Service Ronnie Armour said the drugs issue was being addressed with the use of X-ray body scanners.
The head of the prison service also said the demands placed on prison officers were unprecedented.
He said there were now 1,230 prisoners, up from 830 in 2018.
“More than half are being held on remand and therefore do not have to engage in rehabilitative work,” he said.
When the inspection was carried out, the number of prisoners stood at 1,050.
“While it is important that we don’t seek to make excuses for the decline in service delivery at the prison since the pandemic, no-one should underestimate the pressures prison staff are currently facing,” Mr Armour added.
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