Prison inmates dying from paper laced with deadly drug and smuggled behind bars

Burnt scraps of paper found by investigators near several bodies have been found to contain a powerful drug known as pinaca, suggesting inmates are smoking the scraps and overdosing on the dangerous drug

Prison inmates are dying from paper laced with a deadly drug which is being smuggled behind bars, it is feared. Lags at a notorious US jail have been found dead in their cells with no signs of foul play.

And bosses at the Cook County Correctional Facility in Chicago believe their mysterious deaths are linked to scraps of paper that have been laced laced with a powerful drug known as pinaca.

Criminals are sneaking the potent cannabinoid through prison security by soaking pieces of scrap paper in the substance, which can then be smoked by inmates chasing a high, US media reports.

Overdoses of pinaca cannot be treated using the life-saving drug narcan so when too much is inhaled, it often proves lethal.

Thomas Driskin, 57, was the first inmate to be found dead next to the paper, leaving investigators baffled in 2023.

Within weeks of his passing two more inmates had been killed, and by the end of the year six prisoners had tragically passed away as a result of smoking drug-soaked paper.

In response to the string of deaths, prison officials stepped up security, and sent out warnings to prisoners to avoid smoking the potentially deadly substance. But the smuggling continued, and so did the deaths.

While sniffer dogs and increased surveillance made it harder for the smuggling gangs, the fact that one 12 by 12 inch sheet was earning them around $10,000 dollars, they simply got more creative.

In some instances, criminals were found to be using official documents sent to prisoners and soaking those in the substance, while other times books were used to bring the drug in.

Many have been caught however, Since 2023, authorities have made an estimated 130 arrests related to the smuggling and distribution of drug-laced paper.

Officials have even brought in a state of the art scanner capable of identifying substances on paper by searching for substances other than ink.

However, suspected cases have continued, with at least one fatality in 2025 and two more under investigation in this year already.

Cook County Sheriff’s Office chief of staff Brad Curry warned the ramifications if the drug was to make its way to the streets would be huge. He told the New York Post: “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 on to it probably for a long time.

“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.”

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