Florida’s prisons are being flooded with dangerous synthetic marijuana, causing a rash of inmate deaths. The Medical Examiner’s Office (MEO) for the state’s 14th Judicial District has confirmed that four deaths in the past year occurred after inmates had smoked synthetic cannabis, commonly known as spice or K2. The MEO suspects K2 as the cause of death in 18 more deaths behind bars, pending toxicology reports.
As the director of the MEO, Whit Majors assists in inmate death investigations. He said that the K2 being confiscated behind bars is laced with dangerous chemicals.
“What they think they are smoking is often not what they are smoking,” Majors told local media.
Majors said that some of the contraband K2 is being produced in correctional institutions by inmates. Department of Corrections (DOC) officials speculate that some of the spice circulating through facilities may be made by inmates soaking up insecticides sprayed on the floor by pest control companies.
“We’ve looked into the roach spray,” Majors said. “The pest control companies provided the name of the chemical, and our labs don’t have a way to test for it.”
Chemicals in K2 Have Deadly Consequences
Majors said that he has seen surveillance video of inmates after they have smoked K2. After appearing disoriented and stumbling, inmates have lost consciousness and asphyxiated on their own vomit or suffered seizures before going into cardiac arrest.
“It’s like watching a zombie,” said Majors.
Patrick Manderfield, the DOC press secretary, wrote that K2 is also being smuggled into institutions, sometimes by inmates and their families or visitors. Last year, the DOC confiscated 56,549 grams of synthetic cannabinoids.
“Synthetic drugs are relatively cheap, and inmates see it as a profitable form of contraband,” Manderfield