The Pensacola News Journal is reporting that according to inmate mortality data furnished by the Florida Department of Corrections, 75% of all non-natural or suicide deaths in area prisons last year were related to the use of synthetic cannabinoids. Century, Blackwater River, and Santa Rosa correctional institutions in the Florida Panhandle saw inmate deaths jump from six in 2016 to 27 in 2017, a 450 percent increase. Spice or K2 appears to figure in a large percentage of those inmate deaths. FDC spokesman Patrick Manderfield said FDC has been dealing with the issue of increased contraband and violence for the last year.