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6 Florida Inmates Ill After Smoking Synthetic Marijuana

Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.
FOX 13
/
The Florida Channel
Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.

Authorities said a Florida woman they arrested for allegedly smuggling contraband into a state prison managed to distribute a highly potent synthetic marijuana to inmates after she was booked into a county jail.

Six Franklin County Jail inmates were rushed to a hospital Monday, suffering from symptoms associated with K2. Sheriff A.J. Smith tells the News Herald five inmates were treated and returned to the jail by Tuesday. 

The sixth was airlifted to Tallahassee and is in intensive care.

They say 56-year-old Vanda McElveen was strip-searched at the jail on Saturday, but officials didn't find the drugs.

The sheriff says a female inmate later helped remove it from a body cavity. Inmates who smoked the drug Monday started vomiting, hallucinating and having convulsions. One was given CPR by jail staff.