An incarcerated man said he’s on his second hunger strike over Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction’s failure to address illicit drugs flooding state prisons.
Jacky Robinson Jr., who is held at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, said he stopped eating Saturday morning and notified a corrections officer.
Robinson went on a hunger strike in April 2025 while at the Mansfield Correctional Facility over the same issue.
Under department policy, prisoners on hunger strikes are supposed to be transferred to single cells, have access to hydration and be given opportunities to eat. After three days of refusing food, behavior health staff are supposed to evaluate the prisoners and after five days, the prisoners are admitted to the infirmary.
An investigation published in March by The Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and Marshall Project-Cleveland found that drug-soaked paper, known as K2 or tune, is the most common drug found in prisons. It is easily smuggled and hidden. People who smoke it suffer from a variety of reactions: unconsciousness, convulsions, hallucinations and even death.
Ohio has spent millions of taxpayer dollars on drone detection systems, body scanners, a new mail processing center and other drug interdiction efforts but the problem persists.
Robinson wants more to be done, including an awareness program that he wants to start and lead. “I want to push for the program. Nothing is being done.”
State government reporter Laura Bischoff can be reached at lbischoff@usatodayco.com and @lbischoff on X.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio prisoner launches second hunger strike over prison drugs
Reporting by Laura A. Bischoff, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Laura A. Bischoff, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
