How China Is Fuelling America’s Drug Epidemic | News on Drugs

Last year over 100,000 people in the US were killed by overdose. The drug most connected to these deaths is fentanyl – a synthetic opioid over 50 times stronger than heroin. Fentanyl is at the centre of the North American opioid crisis, provoking some wild myths, poor reporting and politicised scare stories. But where does this drug actually come from? How does it get made? And is the Chinese government actually supporting the production of a drug that is killing tens of thousands of people across North America and the world? Ben Westhoff has travelled to China to see first-hand the factories and labs that produce fentanyl and its precursor chemicals. He reveals the secrets of how this drug is being produced – and the involvement of the Chinese government. Ben Westhoff’s book, “Fentanyl, Inc.“ is available here: =tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= Watch more from this series: Infiltrating Europe’s Most Dangerous Drugs Gangs How Cartels Build Billion-Dollar Empires The Drugs Fuelling Deadly Wars --- Help keep VICE News’ fearless reporting free for millions by making a one-time or ongoing contribution here. - Subscribe to VICE News here: Check out VICE News for more: Follow VICE News here: TikTok: @vicenews?lang=en Facebook: Twitter: Instagram: More videos from the VICE network: Follow VICE World News here: TikTok: @viceworldnews?lang=en Facebook: Twitter: Instagram: #VICENews #News #drugs