Prison changes cut problems
CAMP HILL — Major changes in mail and visiting polices at Pennsylvania prisons have sharply cut the number of corrections officers and employees seeking help for suspected exposure to synthetic marijuana, prison officials say.
The Corrections Department says cases of suspected staff exposure have plummeted since Sept. 6, when new policies were announced. There had been more than 50 instances in the prior month, but only eight since the start of September. Officials said all have been cleared to return to work.
Among the earliest reported incidents was a lockdown Aug. 6 at the State Correctional Institution at Mercer, in which five guards and a doctor were treated for exposure to an unknown substance; and on Aug. 14, six employees at Butler County Prison reported experiencing shortness of breath, dilated pupils, dizziness and a burning sensation in their mouths and throats, triggering a five-day lockdown while officials conducted a jail-wide search with drug-sniffing dogs.
Drug overdoses among prisoners have fallen since new policies were enacted, and investigators believe illicit drugs have become scarcer inside the system, where synthetic marijuana and Suboxone and its generic equivalents are by far the most common problem.
“Prices have increased pretty dramatically,” said Maj. William Nicklow, head of the Corrections Department’s investigations and intelligence bureau. “They’ve doubled and tripled in some cases.”
There has also been a recent spike in the number of visitors caught trying to smuggle in drugs, which Nicklow said “is a direct result of us cutting off the mail avenue.”
In Ohio, where nearly 30 people were treated for exposure to a heroin and fentanyl mixture, authorities have also been taking measures to stem employee exposure to contraband drugs but correction officers are demanding they do more.
Synthetic marijuana, technically synthetic cannabinoids and also called K2, refers to a class of chemicals that trigger responses in the brain receptors that also respond to the active compound in marijuana. Suboxone, a prescription drug that contains opioids and is used to treat opioid withdrawal symptoms, is commonly smuggled in prisons.
“There are fewer incidents,” said Jason Bloom, president of the Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association, “but it’s still too early to tell if we are actually curtailing the introduction of drugs.”
Staff has been increased in Pennsylvania prison visiting rooms, and there is a temporary ban on vending machines and photo booths, which have been linked to drug smuggling.
The prisons have revamped how incoming mail is processed, although the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania says it is preparing a legal challenge over the new practice for handling mail from lawyers.
Prison workers now open legal mail in the inmate recipient’s presence, copy it and give the inmate a photocopy. The prison system keeps the original secured for 45 days before destroying it.
ACLU lawyer Vic Walczak said his organization, which gets about 800 complaints annually from Pennsylvania state prisoners, has determined it can no longer assume legal mail remains confidential. He said the new process compromises attorney-client privilege.
“That document could be in some envelope in some bin, accessible to unknown people, and that simply is not a risk we can take,” Walczak said.
All non-legal mail must now be sent to a post office box in St. Petersburg, Fla., where a vendor opens, scans and forwards it by email to the prison where the addressee is housed. At Camp Hill, mail handlers print out up to 4,000 pages each day, including color copies of photos, and convey the printouts to inmates.
Prison officials say the new efforts, which also include body scanners, ion scanners and drone detection, are expected to cost more than $9 million this year.
