In Franklin County, Florida, five inmates are back behind bars after being hospitalized due to suffering severe reactions from smoking synthetic marijuana. A sixth inmate remains in intensive care. Corrections officers failed to find the contraband on an older woman they booked for a different charge on Saturday. By Monday, six inmates were convulsing, vomiting and experiencing hallucinations from the potent chemical cocktail called “K2”.
Synthetic Marijuana, aka K2, Smuggled Into Florida Jail
On Monday, Franklin County law enforcement agents arrested a woman for allegedly smuggling contraband into a Florida correctional facility.
The AP reports that the illicit substance was K2, a dangerous synthetic marijuana product. The woman managed to sneak the drug into the jail while being booked for another charge on Saturday.
Despite conducting a strip-search of the 56-year-old woman, corrections officers failed to find the synthetic marijuana.
According to sources, another inmate subsequently helped the woman remove a package of synthetic marijuana from a body cavity. The pair then distributed the drugs to at least six inmates in the facility.
Shortly thereafter, six inmates began suffering from severe vomiting, hallucinations, and convulsions. Corrections officers rushed all six to the hospital on Monday.
Five of the inmates received treatment and were back in the jail on Tuesday. But a sixth inmate had such severe reactions that doctors had to life-flight her to an intensive care unit in Tallahassee. She remains in intensive care.
Hospitalization Due To Synthetic Cannabinoid Use Are On The Rise
Synthetic marijuana does not grow or occur naturally. In fact, the drug isn’t a cannabis product at all.
Instead, synthetic marijuana is a chemical analog of natural cannabis, imitating the structure of THC.