2 inmates may have overdosed on drugs
Smuggled synthetic drugs probably were behind the seizures of two minimum security inmates earlier this week, a problem corrections officials say has increased in recent weeks.
A correctional officer found the inmates Monday convulsing on the floor of Unit-C, a minimum security wing on the campus of the South Dakota State Penitentiary.
The men, 22 and 23, were treated and returned to the facility Wednesday.
Denny Kaemingk, Cabinet secretary of the Department of Corrections, said he thinks the inmate were inmates were using K2 because they seized. Similar incidents have occurred at the facility. The synthetic drug has been found on inmates and during urinalysis tests.
"We certainly are reviewing policies and procedures," Kaemingk said. "We are also reviewing the search procedures that are conducted when inmates return to the facility."
The incident is under investigation by the Division of Criminal Investigation. Karmingk said the synthetic drugs were smuggled in either by the men or another inmate.
There are currently 244 inmate housed at the Unit-C, minimum security wing. At any given time, more than two-thirds of those inmate are performing community service or on their work release jobs.
"There just a lot of movement on Unit-C," Karmingk said.
The men involved had not left facility before the incident. Charges filed against the men depend on the outcome of the investigation.
A 2012 state law helped push synthetic drugs off store shelves in South Dakota, so authorities aren't sure where inmates are getting the drugs.
Police spokesman Sam Clemens said K2 drug was popular when it was legal but disappeared after Attorney General Marty Jackley pushed to make it illegal.
"A lot of people were getting away from marijuana and other drugs because they thought it was safe," Clemens said. "They didn't know how dangerous it was."
Clemens said the K2 chemical typically is applied to plant-based material and smoke. The problem occurs when a user doesn't know how much of the K2 substance was used and whether it was mixed with another substance.