Staff drug exposure problem prompts prisons to screen books
FILE – This June 1, 2018, file photo, shows a housing unit in the west section of the State Correctional Institution at Phoenix in Collegeville, Pa. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Larma, File)
(Harrisburg) — Books donated to state prison inmates in Pennsylvania will be screened for drugs as part of the Corrections Department’s response to a sharp rise in the number of employees seeking medical care for suspected exposure to synthetic marijuana.
The Corrections Department said Friday outside donation groups will no longer ship books directly to inmates.
Officials say the most commonly requested free book is a dictionary, so the prison system will provide them to all inmates who ask.
More: Pennsylvania prisons sell inmates e-books. They can be expensive.
After a two-week lockdown and changes to mail and visiting procedures, the number of staff seeking emergency room help has fallen considerably.
Assaults and drug misconducts are also down.
Mail handling changes have drawn complaints, particularly regarding mail from lawyers.
The agency says it’s considering setting up a secure email system exclusively for legal mail.
A collection of interviews, photos, and music videos, featuring local musicians who have stopped by the WITF performance studio to share a little discussion and sound. Produced by WITF’s Joe Ulrich.
