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Two of the women were so ill that they had to stay in the hospital overnight, and the Department of Corrections is investigating how the hallucinogen, a tall shrub that also grows like grass, got to grow in the prison.
All three have been accused of misconduct; But the mother of one of the women said they were “being silly” and had no idea what the plant was, and criticized Corrections for allowing it to grow there in the first place.
The prison director, Deborah Alleyne, said the three women had been participating in gardening work on the prison grounds on December 22.
An instructor had warned them earlier in the day after challenging each other to “eat worms, lick spiders and taste plants,” Alleyne said.
After the lunch break, the staff observed that they exhibited “disturbing behavior, including imbalance, confusion and vomiting.”
The women were taken from the workplace and cared for by prison health personnel.
The place was closed as a precaution and six staff members accompanied them to the hospital.
One woman returned to jail that night, where her health was monitored, but two were admitted to the hospital overnight and released the next day.
There were no ongoing health problems for any of the prisoners involved, Alleyne said.
The women were interviewed and admitted to eating various plants and insects, including a plant of the datura species, a powerful hallucinogen that can be deadly.
“The plant was removed from the tunnel house and immediately destroyed,” Alleyne said.
“More checks have been carried out on the grounds to ensure there are no other similar plants on site.”
Corrections had initiated an operational review to confirm how the plant began to grow on the ground.
“The plant is a known weed and was eradicated from prison grounds several years ago,” Alleyne said.
The women had been accused of misconduct after the incident, but the mother of one of them told the Herald they had no idea they were using a hallucinogen.
She also questioned how Corrections was able to let the plant grow there in the first place, and criticized the department for not alerting her after her daughter was hospitalized.
“They had no idea it was datura, they thought it was just a flower, they didn’t even know what it was until later.
“They were playing around, challenging each other to do silly things.”
She only found out about the incident after her daughter recovered and called her, the mother said.
“She said that she was about to die, that she was vomiting and that her heart almost stopped. The prison has health and safety responsibilities, how could they let this happen? And then they didn’t even let me know that they took her to the hospital . What would they do? Did he say if she died? “
Datura is one of the most dangerous plants in New Zealand.
It is sometimes consumed by people who wish to experience hallucinations, caused by the powerful chemical alkaloids in the plant.
But these have other side effects, including overstimulating the heart and acting as powerful muscle relaxants, which can be deadly.
In New Zealand, the datura has been responsible for admissions to intensive care and indirectly caused at least two deaths from drowning.
Alleyne said the women’s charges will be heard by a hearing judge.
“If the charges continue and they are found or pleaded guilty, they can be punished with the loss of privileges such as television or hobby materials, loss of income or a period of confinement in a cell.
“More action can be taken in response to the findings of the review.”
