Synthetic drugs- which have sickened staffers at state prisons and county jails in Pennsylvania- have resulted in major changes to keep them from being smuggled in.
The biggest change– announced by state officials on Wednesday– involves inmate mail. All mail will now be sent to a separate address to be scanned and processed before being sent to inmates. Legal mail will be copied by corrections staff in the presence of inmates.
“We will no longer, ever, receive mail at all Pennsylvania Department of Corrections facility again,” Corrections Secretary John Wetzel said Wednesday. “This is an unusual step, but the reality is…we are certain that there are drugs in there. And we’ve had enough people exposed.”
Other changes include rolling out drone detection technology to all 25 state prison facilities; using drug-detecting body scanners; and tighter supervision during inmate visitation.
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf says the safety of prison personnel is a top priority.
“The sickening of these staff members is frightening. It’s not acceptable, and it needs to be stopped,” Wolf said Wednesday.
About 50 prison staffers got sick in recent weeks after being exposed to some sort of synthetic drug. Last month, six workers at the Butler County Prison were taken to the hospital after they came down with symptoms including elevated heart rates and dizziness.
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