Letter to the editor: The dangers of K2/Spice at Allegheny County Jail

Tribune-Review | Monday, January 6, 2025 5:00 a.m.

The synthetic drug K2/Spice is illegal and dangerous, and it is being used at the Allegheny County Jail as well as other jails across the country. A person can get “high” from the drug, but the drug can have very serious side effects: tachycardia, convulsions, kidney failure, hallucinations, paranoia and emesis, just to name a few.

The drug is difficult to detect; it is not detected on a urine test and is usually transmitted on paper into a substance that can be smoked.

Besides the drug being a danger to the residents who ingest it, it becomes a major security risk with the drug being bought and sold among residents, increasing likelihood of physical conflict and a need for more interventions and searches by correctional officers.

If a resident is having a bad reaction to K2, becoming loud, threatening and resistant, he or she could also be having a medical emergency, increasing risks of liability for staff and the need for a physical intervention.

The drug can affect staff who breathe it. Eleven county jail staff members became sick on a Sunday night and were taken to the hospital because of an exposure.

An air test can be done to detect the concentration of the drug. At a recent Allegheny County Council meeting, many advocates were very vocal about the need to improve the quality of air in the county, but what about the quality of the air in our own county jail?

John Kenstowicz

Morningside