Pennsylvania State officials are still investigating, after a lockdown of every state prison on Wednesday. Officials with the Department of Corrections say the lockdowns came following the introduction of illicit drugs into the prison system. 

Dozens of corrections officers have overdosed recently inside the prisons. 

Pennsylvania State Police have reportedly said that the drugs found inside the prisons are believed to be synthetic cannabinoid. 

One such cannabinoid is gaining in popularity in prisons across the nation. K-2 is a synthetic marijuana product in liquid form, and was recently reported to be responsible for 90 overdoses in Connecticut. 

"The liquid K2 is what we're seeing being a problem all over the United States," explained TAG Drug Task Force Commander Tony Villanueva. 

In its liquid form, K2 is then sprayed onto plants, paper, of fibers. 

Sheriff Jerry Greene explained it as, "Pretty much anything that someone can cut or spray onto something that can be smoked." 

But the drug has several danger factors. 

"You can just picture them spraying a big area," said Sheriff Greene. "One area could be heavy with the product and another could  have little to none sprayed on it." 

Since the drug is man-made there is an additional problem. 

Villanueva explained that there's an inherent risk of not knowing how the drug is made, where it came from, or whether it was laced with fentanyl or carfentanil. 

"You don't know where it came from, who had it, or what they put in it to make it lethal," said Villanueva. 

Because the liquid drug can be sprayed onto paper and then later smoked or ingested, there is a reason to believe that it may be coming in through the mail. 

Pennsylvania state prisons announced Wednesday that they have shut down all incoming inmate mail that is not legal in nature. 

"There's so many ways that they're coming up with to get it into corrections facilities," said Villanueva. "But we are constantly changing the ways that we operate, changing the way that we receive mail, and we're changing the way that inmates receive mail as well." 

However, since the liquid K2 is odorless and colorless, protection becomes a priority. 

Pennsylvania's Department of Corrections said Wednesday that all prison staff members are required to use safety gloves and other equipment. In addition, corrections officers are reportedly receiving additional training. 

But for Sheriff Jerry Greene the possibility becomes precarious. 

"The sprays and the products like that that come on mail will become very difficult. You know we do our best to figure it out and search everything as thoroughly as we possibly can," said Greene. "I'm never going to be so naive as to think that nothing is getting in to our facility. 

However, there is hope that K2 may remain a prison drug. Both Villanueva and Sheriff Greene say it is unlikely to catch on as a drug of choice in the Valley. 

"We have not in our area really seen a spike. We saw a little bit of it about a year ago or so, but in our area we have not seen this. What we know,  is what we've been seeing popping up in different areas and in other states with this type of product," said Greene. "We have not seen anything or i hope to not anticipate that coming over here in heavy amounts." 

However, both agencies say they are watching diligently for the drug. 

Core Civic, which operates the private prison in Youngstown confirmed that they have found synthetic cannabinoids in their prison. The company however, would not comment on whether any inmates or corrections officer have overdosed on the drugs. 

There is a form of K2 which is legal in several states, however, that version is molecularity different than the liquid form being used for illicit drug use. 

Officials say that a prison overdose and lockdown incident in Chillicothe, OH on Wednesday was not related to synthetic cannabinoids, but rather an amount of heroin and fentanyl that had gotten into the prison.