A prisoner said after the 9:30 pm count, the bathrooms and shower stalls fill up with prisoners smoking some version of K2 or Spice. Texas prison officers start at a salary of about $36,000; the maximum is less than $45,000. NARK II products havepreviously been accused of flagging herbal male enhancement productsandcotton candyas meth and breath mints as crack cocaine. An April 19, 2017 article on Devon Live described the problem with synthetic marijuana at another British prison, HMP Dartmoor. A member of the security team at the prison said these guys who use K2 are often zombie-like: Theyre just groaning, moaning and not able to understand anything thats being said to them. SCI Huntingdon first noticed K2 about eighteen months ago. Even if there was a flood of K2 coming into the DOC, these tests wouldnt detect it, she added. Ciaramella There is no parole in the federal prison system, so accruing good time credit is one of the only ways that inmates can shave time off their sentences. Notoriously faulty drug tests are coming back with false positives after screening prisoners legal mail for the synthetic cannabinoid K2, according to a lawsuit filed against the Massachusetts prison system last week. The bureau also noted that amphetamine, synthetic drugs, and buprenorphine (suboxone) are the drugs people attempt to smuggle through mail . These are the best-hidden drugs these days because cops have a much harder time catching them.. As for Steffey, the grant of compassionate release that got him out of prison early also messed up his case, because the government was able to argue that he'd already received the relief he was seeking. The k2 has been marketed as herbal incense, or "herbal smoking blends", and sold under common names like K2, Spice, and Synthetic Marijuana. They blamed much of the problem on relatives and friends of convicts because they smuggle it in on visitation days. You let it in, you bring it in. Inmates have figured out novel ways of smuggling the drugs in, such as lacing paper with liquid K2. "It's just not designed to work that way. K2 spice spray is also called K2 spray. But inside, incarcerated people are at the mercy of bureaucracies even more strongly tilted against them. It is actually difficult to figure out what the reaction might be, said Frunzi. The BOP uses Safariland's NIK field kits to check for suspected drugs. "It took a bunch of us to take him down. Terms Of Use, A Home-Based Baker Shouldn't Have To Choose Between Her Dog and Her Business, Biden and Congressional Democrats Support Policies That Will Undermine Their Own Clean Energy Goals. You can buy the infused A4 plain paper and write a letter to send to your buddy in prison. Now it's K2.". Crime:The 2002 Norfolk bank robbery; he shot and killed Lola Elwood, a bank employee. This combination is designed to provide relief from opioid withdrawal symptoms without giving the user a high. In recent letters to the Houston Chronicle, convicts report that a growing number of prisoners are overdosing from the drug - though prison statistics do not confirm that, perhaps due to the difficulty in validating its presence through standard drug tests. If in doubt, read My Comments Policy. Liquid k2 in prisons: Pruno, or prison wine, is an alcoholic liquid made from apples, oranges, fruit cocktail, ketchup, sugar, bread, and possibly other ingredients. A variety of tools can help minimize the risk to corrections staff as well as keep contraband out. These are mind-altering chemicals created by humans or sprayed on dried, crushed plant material for smoking, or sold as a liquid to evaporate and breathe in cigarettes and other devices. Its multitude of names rivals the variety of ingredients. Some defendantsfacing an extended stay in jail and threats from prosecutors about the sentences they'll get if they turn down a dealplead guilty to crimes they know they didn't commit. The investigator linked the package to Steffey after finding an email sent to him that included the tracking number of the package. NIK Tests A and U both came back "presumptive positive" for amphetamines. These test kitsplastic baggies with small glass vials insideuse basic chemical reactions to produce colors indicating the presence of various compounds. Of the 950 contraband busts inside Texas prisons between January and mid-June, 477 involved illegal drugs - and 268 of those, more than half, were for possessing K2, according to state statistics. Add to cart. The problem is that really, you don't know what's in them. The company did not return requests for comment for this story. "That's not going to give you a reliable result.". Reactions may occur with, and such compounds can be found in, both legal and illegal products.". More extensive screening tests that detect K2 can cost more than six times that, officials said . "I knew it was '2,'" prison lingo for K2, a synthetic marijuana that now reigns as fastest-growing drug contraband in Texas' massive prison system. The misconduct could stymie his bid for boot camp and early parole. Writing for Newsweek, Michelle McPhee reported Hernandez had a Bible open to John 3:16 in his cell and had scrawled the verse in red ink on his forehead. As a result of the infraction, Blaisure spent 30 days in the SHU. As part of the review, DOCCS is working with the Office of the Inspector General, and cannot comment further at this time.". A small piece of rosemary turned NIK Test A a light yellow-brown color, which could pass as a presumptive positive result if one really wanted it to. Another BBC News article reported officers at HMP Holme House complained of feeling dizzy after entering cells where inmates had smoked Spice. "When confirmatory testing is done by the Department of Justice [in] some Grand Jury charged cases there turns out to be no controlled substances," the court noted. Category: Liquid K2. He would not have done anything to jeopardize that, and a serious disciplinary offense like the one he was wrongly accused of could have resulted in the parole decision being revoked, the lawsuit alleged. They're doing this outside of what I would say is the generally accepted use in the community. He was like a zombie. Sometimes the drugs are mixed with ink or crayon wax and delivered as handwritten mail or childrens drawings. Copyright 2023 Although lab test results later proved his innocence, Ivey was traumatized by his confinement and horrified by the potential consequences he mightve undeservedly faced, according to the lawsuit. Joker E-Liquid Vanilla available at K2 Liquid Spray, we deliver products worldwide with private shipping to your doorstep. The testimony inChaconalso established that the term "presumptive positive," as used by law enforcement and prosecutors, was largely meaningless, since the tests can't discriminate between illicit substances and the dozens of known licit substances that also trigger color reactions. Red in Test U alone does NOT indicate amphetamine-type compounds." Look for a box or option labeled Home Page (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari) or On Startup (Chrome). PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- All 25 of Pennsylvania's state prisons remain on lockdown as they try to get a handle on synthetic drugs. While U.S. media coverage of this problem was scarce before Hernandezs death, it has been regularly noted as a concern in U.K. prisons for several years. Although it doesnt pose the same respiratory failure risk that fentanyl does, unlike fentanyl Suboxone is very easy to absorb through the skin. All rights reserved. Prison has a strictly enforced social order, and sex criminals, especially those whose crimes involve children, are at the very bottom of itshunned at best. Almost no one else ever does. to know more about Smiths Detection? Fentanyl isnt the only drug to watch out for in jails and prisons. Legal High K2 Spice Paper 200.00 $ - 1,500.00 $ Each A4 sheet is infused with 25 ml=0.845351 fluid oz of liquid K2. State investigators both inside the prison system and out blame the growing problem with K2 on its cheap price and the fact that routine drug screens fail to detect its presence. One attorney named as a plaintiff in the lawsuit, James P. McKenna, alleged that after he sent his incarcerated client court documents and a letter in 2018, he received a call from an officer at the prison that his mail had tested positive for K2. The Legislature made K2 illegal in September 2015. "They had this paperwork and knowledge that I wasn't allowed to possess for two years, and they made me suffer the consequences.". When used to test for drugs sprayed on paper (such as legal mail), these tests are less accurate than witchcraft, phrenology, or simply picking a number out of a hat, the lawsuit alleges. Texas' prison system conducts random drug tests on convicts and staff at a cost of about $10 each. Investigators believe that large amounts of K2 come from the Houston area because it is an overseas importation point. A burgundy result on Test U, in conjunction with the orange-brown result in Test A, is considered presumptive positive for amphetamines. This form of K2 is much harder to detect than traditional leafy K2 products that look more like marijuana. Chris said: "It's becoming an issue at every institution. Skip to content. They can be easily purchased online, and they're simple to use. "It would have been a night-and-day difference," even coming from a low-security prison, Steffey says. A spokesperson for the DOCCS says the agency "is reviewing its current procedure for the testing of suspected contraband drugs. A Vice article on January 29, 2016, reported how prison officers said they are getting involuntary hallucinations after entering cells where inmates had recently smoked Spice (its odorless). He specializes in tax and transportation issues, following the governor and the state prison system. Roughly two months after Steffey's release, the New York Department of Corrections and Community Services (DOCCS) suddenly suspended use of drug field tests produced by another company, Sirchie. After he exhausted his appeals within the BOP bureaucracyall deniedSteffey filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in federal court in January 2019. Other law enforcement agencies have changed their policies over the last decade. The officer threw him in the Special Housing Unit (SHU)a sanitized term for solitary confinementfor five months, where he was held in a cell for at least 23 hours a day. The Massachusetts Department of Correction allegedly uses a test called NARK 20023 from Sirchie's NARK II product line. Steffey says he was in fact having federal court records sent to another inmate, sandwiched between some blank divorce forms downloaded off a court website. A spokesperson for the Massachusetts Department of Correction said in an email to VICE News that the DOC does not comment on pending/ongoing litigation. The spokesperson did not respond to a follow-up question asking the department to elaborate on its existing policies surrounding presumptive drug tests. Request information from Smiths Detection. The issues with these tests have been known for decades and are easily verifiable. After waiting six or seven weeks, he asked about the results. Theyve been using almost exclusivelyor, I think, actually exclusivelyon legal mail, Ellen Leonida, a partner at the firm BraunHagey & Borden and one of the attorneys involved in the lawsuit, said of the presumptive drug tests. Liquid K2 in prisons can be used in various ways and it would surely let the inmates have a relaxing and peaceful time. ", This is why Sirchie's webpage for the NARK II test specifically warns, "NOTE: ALL TEST RESULTS MUST BE CONFIRMED BY AN APPROVED ANALYTICAL LABORATORY! A follow-up investigation by a Georgia news station found that the NARK II test kit produced 145 false positives in Georgia in 2017. One Texas corrections official declared K2 the new drug of choice, inside and outside of prison," in 2017. Crime:kidnapping, raping and murdering Heather Guerrero, a 15-year-old Gering newspaper carrier, in 2003. More extensive screening tests that detect K2 can cost over six times that amount, officials said. | "When they find that group, they then proceed to go through a reaction that has a color as its product.". Meyers said smugglers figured out that it was easy to set up a small-business account on Amazon so they could ship books, sprayed with K2, to inmates. The guards had found an ink pen with a suspicious orange substance inside. The disadvantage is that, as simple as the tests are, they're far from immune to user error. I know its costing us in terms of overtime and paper, Meyers said. Writing for The Fix on April 19th, Seth Ferranti described how the U.S. Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has a synthetic marijuana problem. "One guy was on the floor in a medical emergency. "I was like, you guys are crazy. "From Day One, I denied it," Steffey says. Albarca says what the officers found was an empty Pilot G2 pen, and the suspicious substance was simply the stopper fluid that keeps the ink in gel pens from leaking or drying out. identifies important training information, interacts with each other and They smoke it "and then they flip out," Steffey says. On the street, the same liquid in many areas sells for $100 or more an ounce, officials said. According to documents filed by the BOP in a 2019 lawsuit by Vasquez-Maldonado challenging his punishment, a BOP officer tested a fresh ink cartridge to see if a false positive resulted, but it did not. Enter https://www.corrections1.com/ and click OK. On Wednesday, Pennsylvania Gov. After he got out of solitary, Blaisure says he convinced BOP staffers to send the alleged narcotics to a local crime lab to be tested. Steffey is no longer incarcerated, but he is still trying to fight the BOP for stripping him of good behavior credits and throwing him in solitary confinement for five months based on what he says is an unverified test with a well-established track record of leading to wrongful arrests. All rights reserved. inmates escape jail; 1 dead after shootout with deputies, 5 things to know about the escape proof supermax prison, Open the tools menu in your browser. He wrote three notesone to his fiance, the mother of his daughter, one to his daughter and one to a man identified as his prison boyfriend. But its worth it if we avoid a bad outcome if someone overdoses.. Smuggling K2 into prisons is done by a variety of methods, but visitation is the primary method. He hung himself by wrapping a bed sheet around his neck and tying it to a bar on the window of his cell. Heather Harris is an assistant professor of forensic science at Arcadia University who trains future chemists to use these color tests. When an inmates belongings test positive for K2, he typically gets 90 days in restricted housing, meaning he spends 23 hours a day locked in a Spartan cell. You have permission to edit this article. It's a trend being played out nationally, as well, that officials say endangers the safety of convicts and prison staff. Because Suboxone contains naloxone, its difficult to overdose, but its still possible. Synthetic marijuana drug K-2 gaining popularity in prisons Westgate Plaza, 82 Hillside Blvd, Lakewood, NJ 08701, United States order@chemicalmedshop.com 24/ 7 +1 718-814 . Sign up here. It has become the most comprehensive and trusted online destination for correctional professionals nationwide. A NARK II field test of the substance returned a presumptive positive for methamphetamines, and Fincher was charged with trafficking and possession of meth with intent to distribute. This is not an error. When a federal judge ordered the BOP to respond to Blaisure's claims, the government lawyer preparing the response found the nearly two-year-old results of the Jefferson County Regional Crime Laboratory's test of the contents from Blaisure's pouch: "No controlled substance or dangerous drug identified," the lab had concluded. I'll pay my own money to have it sent to a lab.". Among the precautions taken by the state, he said, has been to monitor inmate financial accounts to look for unusual deposits or spending that could be associated with purchases of K2 and other contraband. They just do dumb shit. Harris County, Texas, and Portland, Oregon, did the same in 2016. Whatever the approach, mail inspection and delivery is very time-consuming and potentially dangerous. This may be called Tools or use an icon like the cog. Its crazy here.. C.J. And the compounds that the tests screen for aren't exclusive to the illegal drugs the tests are supposed to indicate. A man prepares to smoke K2 or "Spice", a synthetic marijuana drug. And the drug itself is more problematic, often causing erratic and dangerous behavior. For years, the public has been barred from mailing books to inmates from their homes to prevent contraband shipments. Writing for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Rich Lord described the K2 problem at the Pennsylvania State Correctional Institution Huntingdon. Although the BOP requires all positive urinalysis screenings for drugs to be verified by forensic labs, it has no similar policy for contraband tests. 4.28.2023 4:00 PM, 2022 Reason Foundation | Colors are subjective. Whenever we close a pathway, they find a new one.. I talked to one dude and he said he hit it and he started rapping. From the May 2023 issue, Daniel Hannan and Dalibor Rohac It took eight or nine officers to get him under control.". We'll pay for it.'". Months ago at the Ferguson Unit, a state prison north of Huntsville long known as one of Texas' tougher lockups, a convict doing 30 years for drug trafficking "flipped out" and started yelling and swinging wildly at correctional officers and other convicts. Without that hearing or additional records from the BOP, Steffey and his public defender weren't able to put together a strong record to back up his appeal. "We tested it three different times out of two different kits to make sure that we weren't having any issue, and each time we got a positive for controlled substance," the Fort Chaffee police chief told a local news outlet. Various types of paper seemed to have little effect on NIK Test A, though the solution turned the paper brown. The Federal Bureau of Prisons said in an email statement that they "began seeing attempted drug introductions via liquid narcotics, by soaking paper, approximately in 2010, [which] coincides with the introduction of synthetic drugs in our communities.". The ready availability of these substances in prisons seems to be an open secretwe know they are in there, but just dont want to think about it. In April, a search of a prison in Clarinda, Iowa, found 60 inmates involved in consuming or possessing K2, prompting new precautions to keep the liquid form from being smuggled in. Chris said: Its becoming an issue at every institution. One of its more common product names is Kush. Crime:four murders during a 2013 killing spree in Omaha. Sale! Inmates have written to the Post-Gazette, saying they dont like seeing their neighbor passed out from the drugs they buy in the prison yard. Some of the popular K2 liquids papers are Bizarro k2 liquid on paper,K2 Liquid On Paper Diablo k2 liquid spray on paper, Cannabinoid-C liquid spray on paper, K2 spice-infused . $ 200.00 - $ 1,500.00 Each A4 sheet is infused with 25 ml=0.845351 fluid oz of liquid K2. Your shot is staying the way it is. Department of Correction sources confirmed a wide-scale investigation was underway at the prison, as well as a warehouse used to store dry goods before they went into the prison. The problem is twofold. The extra searches are stressing staffing levels, especially at the Tecumseh State Prison, which currently has 135 job vacancies, said Chipman, the union chief. Corrections1 is revolutionizing the way in which the corrections community finds relevant news, document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); NEXT: Strange Bedfellows Oppose Improving Maines Food Sovereignty Law, Peter Bagge and Charles Oliver I guarantee it.". Take steps to catch contraband Suboxone and synthetic marijuana to keep your COs safe and your facility secure. On December 4, 2014, he says, a correctional officer confiscated his pouch and tested its contents for drugs. It's crazy here." The fluid is typically grease or oil with other proprietary substances added to thicken it.