Suburban Chicago Man Sentenced to Four Years in Federal Prison for Distributing Synthetic Cannabinoids to Jail Inmates

CHICAGO - A suburban Chicago man has been sentenced to four years in federal prison for distributing synthetic cannabinoids to prison and jail inmates and others throughout the country.

In 2024 and 2025, DENIS JOINER processed powder synthetic cannabinoids into liquid form, which he then used to soak sheets of paper and books. Joiner disguised the paper and books as inmate reading material or legal documents and mailed them to customers in federal and state correctional institutions in the Chicago area and throughout the United States.

Joiner produced the drug-soaked paper in a residence in Calumet City, Ill. On July 29, 2025, law enforcement agents conducted a court-authorized search of the residence and discovered what appeared to be a makeshift laboratory, with multiple Pyrex trays, bottles, funnels, mixing bowls, and latex gloves, as well as shipping-related items, including mailing labels containing the names of correctional institutions. Agents seized more than 1,500 grams of MDMB 4-en PINACA in powder form.

Synthetic cannabinoids are a class of controlled substance that are chemically similar to marijuana but significantly more potent. Synthetic cannabinoids pose a risk of overdose and could cause seizures, stroke, heart attacks, and death.

Joiner, 33, of Lansing, Ill., pleaded guilty earlier this year to a federal drug charge. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Jeremy C. Daniel sentenced Joiner to four years in federal prison.

The sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Ryan Whalen, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; Todd C. Smith, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the DEA; Nicholas Bucciarelli, Inspector-in-Charge of the Chicago Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and Thomas J. Dart, Cook County Sheriff.

"Drug trafficking is a serious offense, and the drugs sold here are dangerous," Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan L. Shih argued in the government's sentencing memorandum. "Even more concerning, defendant distributed cannabinoids into prisons and jails, creating a risk that inmates would be subjected to overdoses and potentially death."