Chicago jail searches paper for synthetic drugs after fatal overdoses

Police at Cook County Jail in Chicago are searching for synthetic drugs smuggled in on paper after eight inmates died from seizures in 2023, the BBC reports. Officers preparing to raid the jail’s high-security D block are checking scraps of paper as part of efforts to find the drugs. [1]

Cook County Jail, the largest jail in Chicago and the largest single-use jail in the United States, typically records one or two overdose deaths a year, according to the BBC. It says drugs were previously brought into the jail in body cavities, prompting the use of airport-style body scanners. The newer method involves soaking paper from book pages or letters with drugs. [1]

The BBC also interviewed a former inmate and dealer, who described how synthetic drugs can be made in the US using household ingredients. The report examines how that could affect demand for drugs brought in from outside the country. [1]