Maryland Resumes Visits At Prisons After Statewide Suspension

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Maryland has resumed visits and deliveries at Maryland prison institutions after a statewide suspension earlier this week.

"Our mission is to protect the public, our staff and those in our custody, so we thought the precautions necessary," Department Secretary Stephen T. Moyer said. "Our staff worked quickly to ensure that our inmates will have their visits and mail for the holiday weekend."

The decision came after staff and inmates in Ohio and Pennsylvania got sick, possibly from a drug exposure.

The State Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services says the move is just a precaution, but no prison visits can happen until further notice.

"This was a very serious event today and involved a lot of people but I can tell you right now it could've been a lot worse," said Dr. Kirk Tucker with Adena Regional Medical Center in Ohio.

24 people were brought into the Adena Medical Center in Chillicothe, Ohio on Wednesday. Another 6 were treated elsewhere after they were exposed to what tests reveal was a dangerous mixture of heroin and fentanyl.

Only one of those affected was an inmate.

The rest were guards or nurses who mysteriously came into contact with the drug.

"The sickest folks that were exposed to the substance came in unconscious and not breathing so they couldn't control their airway," Dr. Tucker said.

In Pennsylvania, 29 employees at 10 Department of Corrections institutions were sickened by a suspected synthetic form of cannabis.

"We know that the way that drugs and substances get into our system is through visits and also mail," said Susan McNaughton, spokesperson for Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. "They will take a piece of paper, they will coat it with a liquid substance and then they write a letter and send it to the institution,"

While it's unclear at this time exactly how the employees were exposed it can happen when they simply go through an inmate's property or even escort them around the prison.

"We're following the lead of Pennsylvania and Ohio even though we haven't had an incident, because I don't want my employees to become sick," said Stephen Moyer, Maryland Secretary of Department of Corrections and Public Safety.

In Ohio, employees were trained in the use of Narcan, which doctors credited with saving the lives of those affected.

Maryland's prison staff has received the same training.

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