A series of inmate deaths at the Cook County Correctional Facility in Chicago has been linked to a growing drug-smuggling method involving paper soaked in synthetic substances, according to officials, as reported by The New York Post.
The issue came into focus in January 2023 when 57-year-old inmate Thomas Diskin was found dead in his cell. Authorities reported no signs of foul play or injuries consistent with a fall.
However, investigators noted small, burned strips of paper scattered around the area.
Inmate deaths linked to paper laced with toxic drug in Cook County jail https://t.co/Ek9Iz4Dse7
— Andrea Jackson TV (@AJacksonTV) April 6, 2026
“I said, we need to test this and find out what’s going on with it,” Cook County Sheriff’s Office Chief of Staff Brad Curry said, referring to the paper fragments discovered in the cell.
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Testing later confirmed the strips had been soaked in a synthetic cannabinoid known as Pinaca. Officials said Diskin had smoked the paper, which proved fatal.
Within weeks of the initial case, similar deaths began to occur. A 23-year-old inmate was found dead less than two weeks later, followed by another death involving a 35-year-old inmate within the next month.
By the end of 2023, six inmates had died after ingesting or smoking paper soaked in synthetic drugs.
“We didn’t know what was on [the paper in Diskin’s cell], but we knew it was a drug,” Curry said.
“And it was a race against time … we had a new drug that is very, very toxic and very, very deadly, that Narcan apparently didn’t work on.”
Authorities said inmates typically consumed the drug by burning small strips of treated paper, often using makeshift wicks made from toilet paper or fabric.
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In response, jail officials implemented several countermeasures, including posting warnings throughout the approximately 6,000-inmate facility and increasing inspections of incoming mail. Notices warned inmates:
“Do not take drugs in the jail if you want to live.”
Despite increased scrutiny, officials said the method proved difficult to detect. The treated paper can appear similar to ordinary documents, and even trained K-9 units have been unable to identify the synthetic substances.
Smugglers adapted by disguising drug-laced paper within legal documents or embedding it in books shipped to the facility, sometimes packaged to resemble deliveries from retailers such as Amazon or bookstores.
Curry said a single 12-by-12 sheet of treated paper could be valued at up to $10,000, creating financial incentives for smuggling operations.
“If you’re a dirty officer, [inmates working as dealers] will give them a certain amount of that every time they bring in a sheet of paper … so they’re doing it for the money. It’s so lucrative,” he said.
Officials also cited instances where visitors passed small slips of treated paper to inmates during in-person visits.
Since 2023, Cook County law enforcement has made approximately 130 felony arrests tied to the distribution and possession of drug-soaked paper.
Have you heard of this drug?
Pinaca
It’s a synthetic form of cannabis contained on tiny slips of paper, only it kills.
Prisoners in Chicago’s Cook County Jail have been taking it and dying.
Sounds like a terrible business plan.
Six have died already.
Is the paper drug… pic.twitter.com/oISETzJA4h
— Jennifer Coffindaffer (@CoffindafferFBI) April 6, 2026
Authorities have introduced new detection technology, including machines capable of scanning paper for substances beyond standard ink.
The equipment can process large volumes of documents and signal when foreign substances are detected.
Following these measures, reported deaths linked to the substance declined to one in 2024.
However, officials said one death in 2025 and two additional deaths in 2026 are under investigation, pending confirmation from the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Curry noted that the composition and potency of the synthetic cannabinoids involved have evolved over time.
“I think the type of drug that they’re using now, the potency of that drug, will probably be a contributing factor to why we see a [bigger] rise this year [in deaths] than what we’ve seen the last two years,” he said.
Officials expressed concern about the potential spread of the method beyond correctional facilities.
“If you’re a police officer and you pull somebody over … and there’s a stack of paper in an open Office Depot wrapper, you have no idea that that’s $1 million worth of drugs right there, and your dogs are not going to hit on it. Nobody’s going to know that … until we educate all our police officers,” Curry said.
“So the ramifications, if this does go to the street, are huge. This would be the biggest war on drugs you’ve ever seen in your life … you’d have a lot of new drug dealers that are millionaires, because nobody would catch onto it probably for a long time,” he added.
“And how do you keep it out of schools, because it’s on pieces of paper? It’s terrifying. It would be worse than the fentanyl in the street,” Curry said.
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