While his case was dragging through court, though, Steffey got an unexpected reprieve. "The 2 makes them crazy and crazy strong," the officer said, speaking anonymously because prison policies prevent him from speaking publicly. To say that this experience has been highly upsetting is an understatement, Newman-Polk wrote in an October 2020 letter to Massachusetts DOC Commissioner Carol A. Mici, who is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit. to know more about Smiths Detection? On December 4, 2014, he says, a correctional officer confiscated his pouch and tested its contents for drugs. A 2016ProPublica/New York Timesinvestigation found that 212 people pleaded guilty between January 2004 and June 2015 to drug possession based on Houston Police Department field tests that were later invalidated by crime labs. Trace detection tools can help make mail inspection faster and more thorough. Copyright 2023 "They have seizures; get super high. This may be called Tools or use an icon like the cog. "Effective immediately and until further notice, all SIRCHIE NARK II drug testing will be suspended and no misbehavior report will be issued, nor any adverse action taken against an incarcerated individual for suspected contraband drugs where a test is necessary," a leaked DOCCS memo obtained byGothamistread. More extensive screening tests that detect K2 can cost over six times that amount, officials said. More extensive screening tests that detect K2 can cost over six times that amount, officials said. Texas prison officers start at a salary of about $36,000; the maximum is less than $45,000. Select the option or tab named Internet Options (Internet Explorer), Options (Firefox), Preferences (Safari) or Settings (Chrome). Liquid K2, a type of synthetic marijuana that causes erratic behavior when smoked, is being smuggled to inmates through the mail, sprayed on letters and pages of books. Presumptive positive drug tests give the prosecutors leverage with which to pressure defendants in this way. Do Not Sell My Personal Information, If you need further help setting your homepage, check your browsers Help menu, Ill. CO charged in fatal nightclub shooting, Former S.C. CO's sworn statement leads to 16-year early release of convicted murderer, 4 Miss. LINCOLN A new form of easily concealed synthetic marijuana is causing increased work, as well as concerns about overdoses, increased assaults and staff safety, at jails and prisons in Nebraska. He isn't saying that NIK tests are producing false positivesthat is, incorrectly indicating the presence of drugs. Prison advocates are calling for a similar suspension of the use of NARK II tests in Massachusetts prisons after more than a dozen attorneys said they were falsely accused of sending drugs to their incarcerated clients, who were then put in solitary confinement for receiving legitimate legal mail. "It seems like it would be simple enough to prove my case, but no one will listen because no one gives a fuck about what happens to inmates," Steffey says. a note for a NARK II product on Sirchies website reads. There is regular reporting on the growing presence of K2, Spice and other new psychoactive substances in the U.S. 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. He also lost 41 days of good time credits and had visitations suspended for nearly six months. When we got locked down this guy went totally crazy. identifies important training information, interacts with each other and But inside, incarcerated people are at the mercy of bureaucracies even more strongly tilted against them. 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. 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. Courts give wide latitude to prisons to manage their daily affairs and security, and that extends to prison disciplinary hearings. The searches turned up what prosecutors described as an "unusually large amount of drugs" including K2, cocaine, meth, and items clearly too bulky to mail in like marijuana, bags of pills, jars of alcohol and 74 cell phones. Best Spice Paper Worldwide. "I had been in the HVAC apprenticeship program for four years, and I was risking losing all that over this faulty NIK test kit," Abarca says. Outside of prison, those accused of drug possession based on a field test at least have some recourse to the criminal court system, where the high standards of evidence require presumptive positive field tests to be confirmed by crime labs. Second, if an inmate is caught with synthetic marijuana, it is a relatively minor offensea 300 series incident reportequivalent to illicit tobacco possession. In 1985, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled inSuperintendent v. Hillthat the BOP needs to show only "some evidence" to support a disciplinary sanction revoking an inmate's good time creditsa far lower bar than both the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard that applies in criminal court and the "preponderance of evidence" standard used in civil cases. 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. The problem is twofold. 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. Lexipol. One man began to dance around like a ballerina. 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 relevant question is whether there is any evidence in the record that could support the conclusion reached by the disciplinary board.". Because the full range of chemicals that falls into this category is constantly changing and not fully understood, the full range of symptoms is likewise not well known. As a result, prisoners are allegedly being given solitary confinement, losing visitation privileges, or facing other punishments. But now they are further restricted to buying books for inmates from certain suppliers. It's not easy being in prison, and having a little something like Liquid K2 in prisons can surely make it a little easy for them Liquid K2 spray at the largest drug store in USA & Canada Liquid K2 spray has an unlimited number of ways to be used. It is actually difficult to figure out what the reaction might be, said Frunzi. They are both big problems for prison populations, said Dr. Michael Frunzi, senior scientist and business development manager with Smiths Detection, which makes X-ray and other detection tools. The main way it came into Forrest City was over the fences, which are low. Contraband is a major problem for federal and state prison systemsespecially synthetic marijuana, commonly called K2 or "spice," and suboxone, a synthetic opioid. 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. She once tried to send her incarcerated client, Eugene Ivey, a legal package months after he was granted parole. The footage shows the officer performing a NARK II test for methamphetamines, which turned dark red instead of blue, indicating a negative result, according to the manufacturer. Marijuana Policy Has Run Ahead of Science, Waiting Before Pennsylvania Goes Full Colorado. Inmates have figured out novel ways of smuggling the drugs in, such as lacing paper with liquid K2. We're going to go with what happened in the office. One officer they believe was exposed had a fierce burning sensation in his head, which felt like his head was covered with nits, and [he] spent the night tearing at the top of his head. One former inmate said hes seen men go berserk, turning on their best friends. Likewise, if the NIK colorimetric test for methamphetamine is presumptive the same colorimetric test would be a presumptive test for 'Equal,' the sugar substitute. Want Inmates then smoke or ingest pieces of the soaked paper, or sell it to other inmates. The Very Strange New Respect for Authoritarian Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The paper is then cut up into small pieces and smoked. Fentanyl isnt the only drug to watch out for in jails and prisons. Even if there was a flood of K2 coming into the DOC, these tests wouldnt detect it, she added. | "It took a bunch of us to take him down. Mr. Red in Test U alone does NOT indicate amphetamine-type compounds." In addition, NIK Test U, the follow-up test for methamphetamines and amphetamines, turns burgundy when the ampule is cracked and shaken, regardless of whether anything is placed in the pouch. In December of that year, a BOP mailroom staffer opened a package "of what appeared to be unfilled legal work" addressed to another inmate. The drugs are smuggled in with drones, hidden in trainers, and even on childrens drawings. Yet the results are up for interpretation. As part of the review, DOCCS is working with the Office of the Inspector General, and cannot comment further at this time.". This paper is odorless and colorless. A lot of the lawyers that we talked to said that theyre now driving to the prisons where their clients are locatedwhich sometimes takes hoursto hand-deliver letters to be able to communicate with their clients, Leonida said. And this is the rub of Steffey's argument in his lawsuit. You can buy the infused A4 plain paper and write a letter to send to your buddy in prison. "One of the many examples of the NIK testing errors was a case where heroin was identified using a NIK colorimetric test and a second Valtrox colorimetric test," the court wrote in its ruling. Police have also allegedly used similar field drug tests to arrest people overbird poopordrywall dust thattested positive as cocaine. 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. This means that a presumptive positive for amphetamines in NIK Test A would be confirmed by NIK Test U by default. Your shot is staying the way it is. As a result, officers told Ivey that the mail tested positive for synthetic cannabinoids, temporarily moved him to an isolated cell, accused him of drug trafficking, and charged him with several offenses in a disciplinary report, among other harms. The investigator then tested another piece of the paper with NIK Test U, which "turned an immediate dark burgundy color, indicating Amphetamines.". But police across Texas have continued to report continuing issues with K2 overdoses, including among homeless people. But it seems the methods used to uncover K2 use need to be more accurate, as the negative consequences to inmates for false positives are so serious. Fewer staff members means fewer people to check incoming mail, visitors and deliveries, he said, and inmates realize that. At the Douglas County Jail, a new prevention tactic is coming soon, Meyers said. They blamed much of the problem on relatives and friends of convicts because they smuggle it in on visitation days. This paper is odorless and colorless. The court held a lengthy evidentiary hearing, where it became clear that the local district attorney's office frequently used NIK test kits as evidence to obtain grand jury indictments, despite a number of innocent people having been indicted and clear warnings from Safariland that the tests should be verified. He's saying that the tests don't provide reliable positive or negative evidence in the first place and that untrained BOP staffers are misusing and misinterpreting the tests. The k2 has been marketed as herbal incense, or "herbal smoking blends", and sold under common names like K2, Spice, and Synthetic Marijuana. They smoke it "and then they flip out," Steffey says. Crime:his role in the slayings of five people during a 2002 bank robbery attempt in Norfolk; he shot and killed bank employees JoMausbach and Samuel Sun and customer Evonne Tuttle. Such is the majesty of the law that a U.S. District Court judge dismissed his suit, ruling that he had suffered no deprivation of due process or cruel or unusual punishment. It's not easy being in prison, and having a little something like Liquid K2 in prisons can surely make it a little easy for them Liquid K2 spray at the largest drug store in USA & Canada "That's how [these tests] were integrated into forensic science in the first place, to be followed up with confirmatory tests," Harris says. Officials say the prisons in the Huntsville area have been the source for the majority of the K2 busts in the past two years, though it is turning up elsewhere. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images). 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. And the drug itself is more problematic, often causing erratic and dangerous behavior. Whenever we close a pathway, they find a new one.. It is labor-intensive. 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. If the clear liquid turns orange, then brown, the substancemightbe methamphetamines or amphetamines. Inside prison one sheet of K2-soaked paper can sell for as much as $6,000, so inmates are going to extraordinary lengths to get it in. In yet another case, an incarcerated man named Julian Green accepted legal mail from the Boston College Innocence Program in 2019, though the parcel was taken away for testing and came back positive for K2. Its not the same kind of rush the user might get from a narcotic like fentanyl, but for an addict or someone looking to get high, it's better than nothing. Synthetic weed Copyright 2023 "When they find that group, they then proceed to go through a reaction that has a color as its product.". Safariland's instructions note that "only after Test A goes from orange to brown AND Test U turns can you presumptively identify the substance of an amphetamine-type compound. | Sirchie did not immediately respond to a request for comment. She sat in jail for three months until a state crime lab determined that the -substance was exactly what Fincher had claimed it was when she was arrested: blue cotton candy. Synthetic marijuana drug K-2 gaining popularity in prisons Westgate Plaza, 82 Hillside Blvd, Lakewood, NJ 08701, United States [email protected] 24/ 7 +1 718-814 . And in prison, a "positive" field test can be enough to get inmates thrown in solitary confinement and stripped of other privileges. Here are seven things you need to know about these drugs: Suboxone is a brand-name combination of buprenorphine, an opioid medication used to treat opioid addiction, and the overdose antidote naloxone, better known in its stand-alone form as Narcan. There was a problem saving your notification. This form of K2 is much harder to detect than traditional leafy K2 products that look more like marijuana. From the May 2023 issue, Daniel Hannan and Dalibor Rohac Lisa Newman-Polk, a Massachusetts-based attorney also named as a plaintiff in the lawsuit, suffered over such tests, too. The BOP did not respond to a request for comment for this story. Because paper mail including letters, cards and books is the most common smuggling route for Suboxone and synthetic marijuana, many facilities have made drastic changes to their mail policies. Cannabinoid c-Liquid 5ml. Last year in Georgia, a college football quarterback was arrested after bird poop on his car tested presumptive positive for cocaine. Ciaramella 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. Liquid K2. Its all bad man. As guards tried to subdue him, he resisted yelling that it was their fault. He had slicked the floor of his cell with liquid soap, probably in case he lost his nerve in the midst of his suicide attempt. Its crazy here.. State poison control centers in Texas and other states soon reported a spike in overdoses, serious illnesses and deaths from K2 and related substances. 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. Crime: 2008 murders of11-year-old Thomas Hunter and57-year-old Shirlee Sherman, and 2013 murders of 65-year-old Dr. Roger Brumback and 65-year-old Mary Brumback. I know its costing us in terms of overtime and paper, Meyers said. He hung himself by wrapping a bed sheet around his neck and tying it to a bar on the window of his cell.
Barksdale Afb Housing Pictures,
Listen To Cowlitz County Sheriff Washington Live Police Scanner,
Articles L