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Liquid K2 is the latest contraband problem for Nebraska prisons, jails

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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.

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. This form of K2 is much harder to detect than traditional leafy K2 products that look more like marijuana.

Smugglers got even more creative after corrections officials took steps to screen mail and limit where books can be obtained. 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.

The smugglers also set up Amazon vendor accounts to ship reading materials laced with the drug to inmates.

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“We’re going through a lot of extra work and hassle to keep people safe and keep this out of the jail,” said Douglas County Corrections Director Mike Meyers.

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.

“Most of our assaults (of staff) are linked to K2,” he said.

Scott Frakes, director of the Nebraska Department of Corrections, said the scourge of liquid K2 is a nationwide problem.

The K2 problem is the latest chapter in the cat-and-mouse game played by those seeking to smuggle contraband into prisons and jails, and those trying to keep it out. But liquid K2 sprayed on paper or fiber presents new challenges.

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In the past, K2 had been sprayed on easier-to-spot leafy substances. It is sold legally as “incense” or spice at head shops. But liquid K2, when sprayed on paper, is odorless and colorless, and there are no easy field tests to determine if something has been soaked in the stuff.

Now, blank sheets of paper presoaked with K2 can be purchased over the internet, with instructions on how to brush or spray the dangerous hallucinogenic onto paper and fibers. And the drug itself is more problematic, often causing erratic and dangerous behavior.

K2 has been linked to several assaults, as well as overdoses in Nebraska prisons and jails and even some deaths in other states.

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.

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.

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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.

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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.

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. Nebraska prisons are implementing a similar system.

At the Douglas County Jail and at the maximum-security Nebraska State Penitentiary in Lincoln, letters from attorneys are being checked. Inmates open them in the presence of corrections officers, then copies are made and given to the inmate. Douglas County immediately shreds the original, Meyers said, to comply with confidentiality requirements for attorney-client correspondence. The state holds onto the originals for several days in a secure location before destroying them.

“It is labor-intensive. I know it’s costing us in terms of overtime and paper,” Meyers said. “But it’s worth it if we avoid a bad outcome if someone overdoses.”

The Nebraska and Iowa prison systems, as well as the Douglas County Jail, have changed their policies on book purchases. For years, the public has been barred from mailing books to inmates from their homes to prevent contraband shipments. But now they are further restricted to buying books for inmates from certain suppliers.

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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. 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.

The extra searches are stressing staffing levels, especially at the Tecumseh State Prison, which currently has 135 job vacancies, said Chipman, the union chief.

Fewer staff members means fewer people to check incoming mail, visitors and deliveries, he said, and inmates realize that.

“When you’re this short (of staff), it really limits your options,” he said.

At the Douglas County Jail, a new prevention tactic is coming soon, Meyers said.

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. Meyers said a big portion of the tablets’ cost will be covered by inmate purchases made via the service.

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. He said his agency always works to educate inmates and give them better alternatives, such as social activities, to seeking out K2.

“The problem of drugs and alcohol and other contraband in prisons is age-old,” he said. “Whenever we close a pathway, they find a new one.”

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paul.hammel@owh.com, 402-618-0009, twitter.com/paulhammelowh