4.28.2023 4:00 PM, 2022 Reason Foundation | 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. Best Spice Paper Worldwide. The Massachusetts Department of Correction allegedly uses a test called NARK 20023 from Sirchie's NARK II product line. The fact is, even if Steffey is lying about his own conduct, he's right about the unreliability of these field tests. K2 is an extremely dangerous drug that requires only a piece of paper the size of your pinkie to get high, according to Mike Chipman, who heads the union that represents state corrections security staff. Your shot is staying the way it is. A series 100 offense could result in 60 days in Disciplinary Segregation (the hole), or the loss of good time, commissary, or visiting and phone privileges for up to one year. Copyright 2023 And in prison, a "positive" field test can be enough to get inmates thrown in solitary confinement and stripped of other privileges. This form of K2 is much harder to detect than traditional leafy K2 products that look more like marijuana. 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'. Testifying in the case, Allison Baca, a criminalist at the California Department of Justice, said that the agency does not use the term "false positive" when talking about color tests, because they do not consider such tests to be either positive or negative. Presumptive positive drug tests give the prosecutors leverage with which to pressure defendants in this way. On December 4, 2014, he says, a correctional officer confiscated his pouch and tested its contents for drugs. As guards tried to subdue him, he resisted yelling that it was their fault. The former tight end for the New England Patriots was found guilty of first-degree murder in 2015 and was sentenced to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole. 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. But in the past two years, prison officials say they have launched a continuing series of targeted crackdowns on visitors and guards who are smuggling it to convicts and on inmates who pay up to $500 an ounce to have it smuggled in to them. Shop Now Free Shipping Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Roger Terry, an inmate in a Maryland state prison, filed a lawsuit in 2011 after he was put in solitary confinement for nearly 200 days following a positive NIK test of coffee grounds that was later invalidated by a crime lab. Lance Lowry, president of a Huntsville union that represents correctional officers, recalled one shift a few years ago when he was working in an Huntsville-area prison. 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. I talked to one dude and he said he hit it and he started rapping. Unlike in Chacon, however, the federal district court that eventually heard Steffey's lawsuit dismissed his case in May 2020 and denied his motion to hold an evidentiary hearing on the reliability of NIK tests. Sirchie did not return requests for comment for this story. "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. | Vasquez-Maldonado's lawsuit was dismissed. GREEN K2 DARK GALLON is one of our latest product we got in stock.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. Meyers said the Douglas County Corrections Department experienced an epidemic of liquid K2 problems a couple of months ago, with evidence discovered almost every day and inmates found completely out of their mind, high. A couple of inmates were hospitalized for overdoses. "It used to be marijuana or something else. Fentanyl isnt the only hot contraband drug here are some key facts about two of the substances most often smuggled through the mail, By Rachel Zoch, Corrections1 BrandFocus Staff. 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. The results of this test are merely presumptive. The paper is then cut up into small pieces and smoked. Correctional officers can never be too vigilant with their searches when it comes to contraband, especially when it comes to the mail. to know more about Smiths Detection? 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. The Houston Police Department discontinued the use of drug field tests in 2017. The state holds onto the originals for several days in a secure location before destroying them. | Ive also seen it where lads have dropped down dead, had heart attacks, gone into comas, gone loopy and ended up being sectioned because of it.. Liquid K2. The officer then moves on to NIK Test U, which either turns blue to indicate a presumptive positive result for methamphetamines, or burgundy. But tens of thousands of incarcerated people in the U.S. are subjected to it for months, sometimes years, at a time. There was a problem saving your notification. More extensive screening tests that detect K2 can cost more than six times that, officials said . And he seemingly had good reason to be: The incarcerated person lost their job and received a disciplinary ticket, was confined to a cell, and was threatened with a potential $100 fee if a future confirmatory lab test came back positive, according to the lawsuit. Buy potent K2 spiced sheets and sprays at affordable.. . Nebraska Corrections, for instance, now bans shipments of books from Amazon and restricts purchases to one company, Edward R. Hamilton, which specializes in providing reading materials for correctional facilities. Now, hes extremely nervous to receive further correspondence. They started to send counterfeit letters from attorneys so K2 mailings could bypass the screenings required for regular mail, but not for communication with lawyers. This is not an error. Chris said: Its becoming an issue at every institution. If synthetic marijuana is popular in your region, help spread the word of the dangers and misconceptions about this drug. "I was like, you guys are crazy. 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. Liquid K2 in prisons can be used in various ways and it would surely let the inmates have a relaxing and peaceful time. Its used in a context where its just obviously failing at every turn. So the incarcerated people who are accused can either quickly accept responsibility and face lesser punishment despite being innocent, or give up privileges and possibly enter solitary confinement while awaiting more accurate lab data. They're doing this outside of what I would say is the generally accepted use in the community. Prisoners are tested for illicit drugs such as heroin and marijuana, but the standard urines tests dont screen for the metabolites from synthetic marijuana. They just do dumb shit. Investigators believe that large amounts of K2 come from the Houston area because it is an overseas importation point. By the time Green ultimately received the legal communication, it was unreadable. 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. It has become the most comprehensive and trusted online destination for correctional professionals nationwide. This paper is odorless and colorless. One third reported using Spice in the previous month. "From Day One, I denied it," Steffey says. Please subscribe to keep reading. "It appears that the Bureau of Prisons regularly deprives prisoners of good conduct time credit, thereby lengthening their time in prison, based on a testing protocol known for its high rate of error, without even minimal procedures to ensure that the tests are conducted correctly and that questionable test results are subject to confirmation," Steffey's appeal to the 9th Circuit, filed last August, argued. But liquid K2 sprayed on paper or fiber presents new challenges. The problem of drugs and alcohol and other contraband in prisons is age-old, he said. A burgundy result on Test U, in conjunction with the orange-brown result in Test A, is considered presumptive positive for amphetamines. Lexipol. 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. Courts have ruled that inmates have no right to demand independent verification of drug tests. For example, X-ray body scanners have been shown to detect physical concealment of contraband while also deterring future attempts. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. The extra searches are stressing staffing levels, especially at the Tecumseh State Prison, which currently has 135 job vacancies, said Chipman, the union chief. A spokesperson for the DOCCS says the agency "is reviewing its current procedure for the testing of suspected contraband drugs. Best Spice Paper Worldwide. Generally, K2 is a mixture of spices, herbs and shredded plant material that is sprayed with a synthetic compound similar to the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. Other law enforcement agencies have changed their policies over the last decade. By switching their illicit smuggling ventures to K2 or Spice theyre lessening the consequences that theyll face when caught., The Federal Correction Institution (FCI) in Forrest City Arkansas was given as an example. Campers or free world people throw packages over the recreation yard fence. At FCI Beckley in West Virginia the regular smuggling gauntlet is through the mailroom. But Steffey says the current system gives correctional officers an easy way to gin up shots against inmates. In recent months, prison investigators said they have conducted searches and busts on visitation days at several prisons as well as by searching prison employees' vehicles in random parking lot sweeps. In a second article, McPhee said verifying the presence of K2 in Hernandezs system led to a State Police raid at the Souza Baronwski Correctional Center (SBCC), the prison facility where Hernandez died. Synthetic marijuana, often referred to as K2 or Spice, is a catch-all term for lab-created variants of THC, the chemical in marijuana that causes a high. He hung himself by wrapping a bed sheet around his neck and tying it to a bar on the window of his cell. In 2013, Travis County, Texas, stopped accepting guilty pleas for low-level drug possession before official crime lab results came in. Crime:2002 Norfolk bank robbery; he shot and killed Lisa Bryant, a bank employee. Likewise, if the NIK colorimetric test for methamphetamine is presumptive the same colorimetric test would be a presumptive test for 'Equal,' the sugar substitute. Its crazy here.. "Atoms can combine together in groupswe call them functional groupsand these color tests are simply looking for the presence of a particular group," Harris says. 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. Follow him on Twitter @PaulHammelOWH. Basinger said the measure is necessary to prevent liquid K2 from entering the prison system. The effects of synthetic marijuana on an individual can vary widely. Inmates open them in the presence of corrections officers, then copies are made and given to the inmate. Although they're not "Club Fed," as tabloid headlines like to joke, the camps are as good as it gets in the BOP system. 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. Six staff members were caught smuggling drugs, including. One of its more common product names is Kush. Getting another inmate's paperwork in the mail isn't allowed, but legal mail from an attorney is supposed to be privileged. These drug-laced papers can be a significant risk to COs and others tasked with mail inspection and delivery. 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. In 1989, a 4th Circuit Court of Appeals panel rejected an inmate's argument that relying solely on unconfirmed positive results to impose sanctions violated the right to procedural due process. Frakes said Nebraska will be looking at a similar system when it rebids its contract for tablets, which are now used for inmate telephone calls. The Nebraska and Iowa prison systems, as well as the Douglas County Jail, have changed their policies on book purchases. 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 would have been a night-and-day difference," even coming from a low-security prison, Steffey says. Right off the bat, when you have a piece of paper and you pull out your field test kit, you've made the wrong decision," she says. One prisoner wrote how he received a misconduct report accusing him of having K2 in a bottle he said held only shampoo. There's a lot more freedom.". Some state courts have been more skeptical. Harris says the dyes and other chemicals in paper make it unreliable for color tests. Blaisure says a BOP official told him, "'Look, we're not going to go with the lab results. A tablet system will allow almost all inmate communications to be conducted virtually, without paper, thus eliminating the need to screen snail mail and books. Texas' prison system conducts random drug tests on convicts and staff at a cost of about $10 each. If you do get a red light at a certain batch, you can say one or more letters in this batch are suspect, put them aside and deal with them later.. I know its costing us in terms of overtime and paper, Meyers said. But inside, incarcerated people are at the mercy of bureaucracies even more strongly tilted against them. Steffey and other formerly incarcerated people say inmates are being jammed up on bad evidence with virtually no avenue for recourse. At the Douglas County Jail, which houses an average of about 1,200 inmates, all mail not from lawyers is now checked and copied, with the photocopies given to inmates. Ciaramella Scott Frakes, director of the Nebraska Department of Corrections, said the scourge of liquid K2 is a nationwide problem. $ 200.00 - $ 1,500.00 Each A4 sheet is infused with 25 ml=0.845351 fluid oz of liquid K2. Copyright 2023 When youre this short (of staff), it really limits your options, he said. In southwestern Virginia, jail officials have intercepted photos and other papers soaked in liquid suboxone, a substance used to treat heroin addiction, and have even temporarily banned inmates. All rights reserved. Google synthetic marijuana urine tests. You can even order the kits through Amazon. "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. "But I promise you, it happens to people on the street too. 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. It ruled that the single field test afforded to many incarcerated people is "all the process due them under the Constitution and interpreting case law.". "One guy was on the floor in a medical emergency. Look for a box or option labeled Home Page (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari) or On Startup (Chrome). The disciplinary report says that using NIK Test A, Blaisure's pouch "tested positive for Amphetamine." C.J. It's a versatile drug that can give birth to several forms and uses. Heather Harris is an assistant professor of forensic science at Arcadia University who trains future chemists to use these color tests. 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. They can be easily purchased online, and they're simple to use. Copyright 2023 11 talking about this. At the Nebraska Corrections Department, Frakes said a surge in K2 issues earlier this year might have been associated with inmates receiving COVID-19 stimulus checks, and thus having extra money to spend. But in Massachusetts, confirming test results from chemicals found on prisoners mail can be a months-long process, according to the lawsuit. An ex-offenders organization called User Voice surveyed nine jails on their use of Spice. One man began to dance around like a ballerina. And the list of known substances that can trigger a positive result in these tests is ever-expanding. It has become the most comprehensive and trusted online destination for correctional professionals nationwide. K2 paper, also known as K2 spice paper, is a simple A4 piece of paper with K2 liquid embedded in it. Whatever the approach, mail inspection and delivery is very time-consuming and potentially dangerous. In 2016, an Arkansas couple spent two months in jail after a sandwich bag of baking soda in their truck tested "positive" for cocaine. "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. Add to cart. Synthetic weed First, the BOP doesnt regularly test for synthetic marijuana. Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. K2 spice spray is also called K2 spray. He also made red ink marks on his hands and feet, mimicking the stigmata of the crucifixion of Christ. Shop. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. It has had a negative impact on my health and my family, as any accusation against Mr. Ivey was effectively an accusation that I committed a serious criminal offense.. K2 Spice paper, k2 paper, mamba paper either way it's so strong it will . "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. You can buy the infused A4 plain paper and write a letter to send to your buddy in prison. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); NEXT: Strange Bedfellows Oppose Improving Maines Food Sovereignty Law, Peter Bagge and Charles Oliver This may be called Tools or use an icon like the cog. Efforts to thwart smuggling range from prohibiting book deliveries to a postcard-only policy to providing scans or copies to inmates rather than the originals. It's crazy here." With us, you're rest assured to order the best potent k2 liquid on paper, k2 spice paper,k2 liquid incense, liquid k2 spray, k2 spray on paper, liquid spice paper, presoaked potent k2 paper, odorless k2 liquid paper,clear k2 paper and pain meds online securely. BOP investigators also discovered a chain of email messages that appeared to be thinly veiled code about money transactions and deliveries. A police officer or prison guard who comes across a suspicious substance could use Safariland's NIK Test A, a general screening test that can turn a variety of colors, to see what the substance might be. Sirchie did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Easter says the inmates who got the K2 paper then sold it to other inmates. Precise and accurate detection and confiscation of contraband in prisons can prevent drug abuse, violence and further criminal acts. 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. It's a versatile drug that can give birth to several forms and uses. The BOP then expunged the violation from Blaisure's record, making his lawsuit moot. Prison officials told VICE News they suspect that inmates have been receiving letters soaked in a liquid form of K2. "My cellie, we said, 'Please, just send it to the lab. 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. Early Wednesday morning on April 19, 2017, Aaron Hernandez was found dead in his prison cell. Learn how this easy-to-use device can enhance your contraband detection strategy, Learn why a layered screening strategy is so important and how it can help your facility plug holes, Adding the B-SCAN body scanner to the screening process made it next to impossible for inmates to sneak drugs into the facility. 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. In 2017, correctional officers at FCI Sheridan put Albarca and his cellmate, Carlos Vasquez-Maldonado, in the SHU and accused the two of possessing drugs in their cell. 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. A November 2016 article in The Daily Mail described a documentary, the Secret Life of Prisons, that said drugs (particularly Spice) are widely available. In 2011, a United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture concluded that solitary confinement beyond 15 days constituted cruel and inhumane punishment. Almost no one else ever does. The Legislature made K2 illegal in September 2015. Liquid K2 in prisons can be used in various ways and it would surely let the inmates have a relaxing and peaceful time. 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 . The problem is that really, you don't know what's in them. They blamed much of the problem on relatives and friends of convicts because they smuggle it in on visitation days. Federal inmates trying to fight NIK test determinations are caught in a bind: They have no procedural grounds to challenge their punishment as long as these tests are considered "some evidence," but none of them can get far enough in court to challenge the validity of that evidence, even though there is an ample record to support their claimsincluding from the government itself. Copyright 2023 Corrections1. 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 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. 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. identifies important training information, interacts with each other and AUSTIN, TexasIt's the zombies that freak everybody out. The main way it came into Forrest City was over the fences, which are low. Chris said: "It's becoming an issue at every institution. And the drug itself is more problematic, often causing erratic and dangerous behavior. 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. 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. Most of our assaults (of staff) are linked to K2, he said. Not only was he concerned about how the K2 accusations would impact him, McKenna was worried about his client. "That functional group, however, is not specific to methamphetamine. 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. On Wednesday, Pennsylvania Gov. The Legislature made K2 illegal in September 2015. Liquid K2 in prisons can be used in various ways and it would surely let the inmates have a relaxing and peaceful time. 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.
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