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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 มิ.ย. 2024
- 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: www.amazon.com/Fentanyl-Inc-C...
Watch more from this series:
Infiltrating Europe’s Most Dangerous Drugs Gangs
• Infiltrating Europe’s ...
How Cartels Build Billion-Dollar Empires
• How Cartels Build Bill...
The Drugs Fuelling Deadly Wars
• The Drugs Fuelling Dea...
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#VICENews #News #drugs
WATCH NEXT: US Anti-Drug Partner in Mexico Worked for the Sinaloa Cartel - th-cam.com/video/6BIRNr4rq8A/w-d-xo.html
and the weapons of war that the cartels have are MADE IN USA
should rename this "how democrats are profiting from the drug crisis in America"
Shut up.
@@MrLaloapatzingan😊😊😅
@@SickestWorld how VICE is supporting Dems who support open borders that are the root cause of the crisis... they are bought by China, or at least Joe Briben is.
How to tactically eliminate your enemies. Well played
Exactly!
@@catlovely5438facts
The British Trojan horsed China first, forcing the Chinese to poverty and work for others for cheap..
Now china sees us a bunch of lazy party'ers who they are tired of working for, especially when they see how over crowded they are , and see the states as land to stretch out and have breathing room.
They want it all.
Yeah man. If anything, this tactic is old hat. The Brits did this (twice) to China, because they wanted to force China to trade.
This guy said something really important. Fentanyl wears off really quickly and users think that by increasing the dose, it will last longer. My friend died from an OD because he thought adding more will hold him longer. The threshold for an overdose is really small with Fentanyl. Be Careful!
First of all, RIP to your friend. But how did you know that was what your friend intended to do? Did he appear in your dream?
It is too strong to be used recreationally do not use it! Go buy an ounce of good medical pot and vape it!
Your friend overdoses and you tell everybody else to be careful instead of stop doing dope
@@justbehonest66 it's called harm reduction he is 100% doing the right thing by warning people & giving practical advice that is much more likely to be followed than telling people to 'stop doing dope'... if it was that simple 🙄
@@justbehonest66 Dude you have to understand a thing the war on drugs will never end, the best solution is to legalize them and maybe people will stop to use fentanyl, with 1 KG of fentanyl they can make half of a million of ten $ doses, 1 kg is less than 20 K. You can make 5 Millions $ with on the street and it is way easier to smuggle that than 100 KG of Heroin. Last thing the best dope dealer is BIG pharma, that why this war on drugs is just bs legalize them all let junkies buy them paying taxes and with quality control and the world will be a better place.
This is exactly how i got hooked on opiates. My doctor wrote me 120 Percocet 10s every 17 days. I had no idea how hooked i was until it was too late. I lost everything. I got clean in 2018. Been sober ever since. I have my life back too amazingly. I'm one of the lucky ones.
Should sue your doctor tbh.
@@tundravarg3525 it's in the works now actually
nah he should recommend him to me@@tundravarg3525
god blessed my friend, let Jesus Christ guide you to a good and new life. Remember, this life do not end here. Read the Holy bible and be careful with this world!
@@Mentoresstop making it about your god
The Opium War. Chapter 3: "The tables are turned."
Let's all take a minute to congratulate Drugs, on winning the war on drugs!
Celebration 🕺🏾🕺🏾🕺🏾
Are you joking ? Lol
Was funded by the flbi
Just copy and paste this to every vice video and you'll get top comment
@@jaybreezyy8407 ah yes the flbi
"The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting"
Well said!
Yep and it's amazing how few in our government want to actually admit to the reality that drugs are but one tool that China is using to destroy us from within,
payback for the opium wars for sure. and i cant say the west doesnt deserve it.
Facs
China has first hand experience in what it's like having your population addicted to drugs (opium) and being useless.
Man! there's so much more to this! I so wish the second part of this interview/colab was made available!
During chemotherapy I became addicted to fentnal and morphine. The fentnal almost killed me I felt my brain dying. I told my Dr. And it was decided to stop me from taking g the drugs. I ended up kicking cold turkey I think there are better way of handling drug withdrawal I don't know. I will say I am grateful that I did kick the drugs and I am clean and sober today, this happened in 2002.
Did the opioid help the chemo sickness or no just wondering.
Was there already fentanyl in 2002?
@@pieroo7 yes fentanyl was around 2002 they've made medical grade fentanyl they give you in patches and suckers that's been around since the 90s as far as I know maybe even the 80s.
God bless bro u got this without the bullshit drugs! Have a great day bro
@@gavinmoody5678 ah ok thank! And why is it popular now?
one of the most amazing part of this to me is is that none of these drugs produced in China end up in the general Chinese population. No one is taking these drugs in china, but it's all made there. I feel like the government turns a blind eye to the factories as long as they're supplying foreign markets and not local markets.
Yes it is too, but they have strict anti-drug use laws. Time for America and other countries to adopt similar laws. We just can't shift the blame on an entire country, I've heard if you're caught drug trafficking there you get death sentence. Many capitalist regimes are failing their people for being too liberal.
@@DarlyaFaroeste lol no. gl with that. i'm a legal clean supply kinda guy. i'm not killing people for getting high bro. wtf.
Don't forget about the cartels in Mexico they are working with China it's all about the money a drug is a drug
It's not surprising, it's all part of the Big Game by the CCP, they are waging a not-so-covert war against America and the West. The CCP is evil and they have nothing less than world domination in mind.
They would never allow their native population to get so hooked, and if you did, those sick people would be very quickly removed from society. The CCP is perfectly fine, however, with Americans using the drugs and to die from overdoses.
Because it isn't fucking made there i promise you most drugs in america dont come from halfway acros the world ya'll chemists produce it themelves
Otherwise it would be more used in china
Isn't it interesting 99% of comments say they got fentanyl in a hospital
The govt aint buying illegal chinese fentanyl they just make it themselves
Psilocybin saved my life. I was addicted to heroin for 15 years and after Psilocybin treatment I will be 3 years clean in September. I have zero cravings.
This is something that truly needs to be more broadly used in addiction treatment.
Psychedelic’s definitely have potential to deal with mental health symptoms like anxiety and depression, I would like to try them again again but it’s just so hard to source out of there.
Yes, bergwilly11_
A lot of people have testified about this and I really want to give it a shot. I put so much on my plate and it definitely affects my stress and anxiety levels
The Trips I've been having have really helped me a lot,I finally feel in control of my emotions and my future and things that used to be mundane to me now seem incredible and full of nuance on top of that I'm way less driven by my ego and I have alot more empathy as well
@@Armus187Is he on instagram?
2 of my best friends got pretty addicted to crack and oxy, and the got crack that was laced with fentynal and overdosed just a couple days apart... They didn't even know each other and got from different people... It's fucking terrible man.
Dude Fentanyl patches are so scary. I had back surgery when I was 15 and my mom gave me half of her patch one day because my pain levels were absurd. For three days I was basically a vegetable. First and last time that's for sure.
you legit just said your mum drugged you at 15 years old what a trash human she was wtf she on Fentanyl for
I agree, they are too strong. I declined the patches when they were offered to me after I'd seen what they can do.
@@sydneyconcerts902 Sure it was wrong I'm not denying that. When your son is screaming in pain for weeks on end I'd imagine from a mother's perspective it makes you feel helpless. Also, she's had five surgeries, and this was late 2000's early 2010's when it was way more available. It was a bad choice on her part but it also gave me some insight to just how strong and dangerous the stuff is.
@@childofanu7215 guessing anu is the trash mum?
@@childofanu7215 Hi, i wanna know more about your case.
4 years clean and sober, after almost losing it ALL to opioids.
God bless you
Good for you and wishing you continued success!
Shouldn’t have been on it in the first place
Same man 18 months sober thank god
@@djstickysheets2315 you’re bitter
This is why the de ath pena lty for dru g trafficking is so important
Kyrie, eleison...
Thanks for the awesome documentary, as always Vice.
I stopped injecting fentanyl and been clean for over 2 years now. I was doing it because I have very bad chronic pain and couldn't find a doctor to help me because I was "too young" in my early 20's. Have had 6 surgeries in 2 years to take most of my bowels out, didn't know that age would make a difference with all of the adhesion pain I have. The only thing that I could do was to go to a methadone clinic, it sucks but atleast im not sticking a needle in my arm anymore and my pain is mostly under control and I have my life back with the methadone helping my pain and making myself not having to go to the bathroom over 30 times a day.
Kratom is an amazing leaf. Do some research.
The therapeutic dose of fentanyl is about the size of a tip of a Toothpick. It's done in micrograms not milligrams fucking with it is Russian roulette. Damn a couple bad THC carts and stoners stayed away from them. This crap y'all are chasing. Fentanyl was developed as a weapon of mass destruction. Smh. And it's working.
What are these replies oh my god. Congrats on being 2years clean 💪💖
I'm so sorry you going through that; i hope you have adequate support for chronic pain because in this country sometimes it seems no one cares and doctors are scared to loose their licenses.... methadone is strong but pretty harsh on your digestive system. I am on suboxone now- but Ill tell you its just as addictive if not MORE addictive than methadone (as it stays in your system for days to weeks,) and it doesn't touch my pain unless i take enough to literally throw up and even then it's not a pain medicine but they trying to make it one. but the pharma companies don't make squat on methadone so thats why they forcing some patients onto suboxone (it costs me up to $200 cash a month) methadone cost $10 a month.
@@judgmentday2867 where u @?
I would be interested to see Vice explore addiction in China, as a result of local production and low regulation.
Heroin and opium in China and all Asia and Europe. Fentenl is bought by the Mexicans and really for the US and Canada Market.. Now the Mexicans are getting into Australia through the biker gangs with fentenl and meth. Very r here of death in Europe among the heroin users.
I was just reading about that & article says even tho China officials claim they do not have drug problems they most certainly do & it's getting worse. Not much more I'd like to see vice do undercover in china but doubt that would happen?
From what I heard from a Chinese friend there are almost no drugs in China. I guess it's because they have very tough laws on drug use (20 years in prison for possessing a single joint) that also include the manufacturers. So drug dealers and manufacturers just don't find it attractive to risk their lives for making drugs. I am from Eastern Europe and it was the same during socialism. You can sometimes accomplish amazing things in dictatorships.
funny that u think they would let their own citizens use poison instead of profiting off our demise... china is ASS HOE
@@nonamenoname2618 Imagine thinking that there was no drug addiction during so called "socialism" or one-party state in all of those countries in eastern europe... lol where are you from???
Excellent interview. Thank you.
Thank you for sharing this info with us... It's extremely important to know.
@Amy Beaver it will only be important if it causes a large number of Americans who currently obsess over drug seizures at the border to listen to what me and others are trying to tell the public. That the amount seized is a drop in the bucket. The heroin supply is fully supplanted by fentanyl and now xylazine, due to our drug policy pushing prices (and thus profits) into the stratosphere. And the deaths keep coming, day in, day out, and will continue. They don't have to, I promise you. There's not a perfect solution, but we can do so very much better. It's too late for a lot of people, including many close to me. I don't want others to die, and I don't wish that grief on anyone.
But I'm truly sad that I don't expect any meaningful change within my lifetime. Maybe I can help drive the stigma down slightly, because that is IMHO the biggest obstacle. Do you know why so many addicts and others who want help desperately don't seek it out voluntarily? Because they, for instance, don't want to go to a clinic that is entirely profit-driven, that's based on a punitive system, that does not treat people with dignity. And don't take my word for it. Check to see what their lobbyists have done to ensure that no legislation passes that would allow an opioid user to see their doctor directly and get medication that works for them. Like you can.
Ask them why they use racemic methadone instead of the useful isomer (it's cheaper). But I'll tell you what that does over the course of many years (one thing anyway, something I have personal experience of): it disrupts calcium ion transport in the gums, and will make one's teeth fall out, and in a very bad, very painful, and very self-image destroying way. They'll likely point to the sugar in the formulation, or junkies' terrible hygiene. But they'd be lying. It took me quite a while before I was able to talk to one of the older physicians that's works in the clinic program about that. But he did eventually tell me that he hadn't seen such problems, not nearly as severe, before regulations on generic medications were relaxed and they switched to racemic.
You can talk to your doctor about what sort of medication works for you. I can’t. Take it or leave it. And keep paying that bill in cash out of one pocket and we’ll grab that sweet ACA cash out of the other, as long as we file the proper paperwork of x number of drug tests per year per patient. Never mind that the place fills up with people, half have COVID and don’t bother with masks, and they’ll take as long as they need to get the paperwork done because they’re a business, and the goal is to make money, not to worry about that trash in the waiting room, even though some are supposed to be at work now. Screw them.
I could go on. There’s plenty more I’ve written in just this thread if you care to read it. Read on if you’d like to know what it’s like to have to grind down an exposed root canal post with a mirror and a power tool because the decay is so severe that everything crumbled away at once. So not only does one get to experience the pain of a dental abscess, but has to act in desperation because there’s no dentist to go to now, and that post will otherwise tear your lower lip off.
I’m not angry at you personally. I’m angry, that’s true. There are plenty of monsters in these comments who like to mock drug addicts. What I will ask you to do is take a moment and ask yourself seriously: Am I OK with this?
I live in British Columbia and the opioid crisis is so bad there’s Toxic Drug Posts all over right now and people are getting so used to hearing about young people dying it’s sad.
same here, it’s scary to see
That's what the great reset is about... Drugs and covid vaccines
This is so sad 😔 to hear. China has already launched a silent war against the West by turning our people into living zombies, can't help thinking its all a strategy. Back here in Latin America it has also increased... Sad to say the least our region is used as the route, if only canada and the USA can come together and try to strengthen the security measures here in Latin america, you'd be surprised there are more good cops than bad cops that would bbe willing to work along.
@@DarlyaFaroeste that’s pretty ironic, because we’re told all the supplies comes from China.
What is a Toxic Drug Post?
love the camera cuts to him just nodding
Thank you for sharing this video.
They gave me Fentanyl after a surgery, and I was out of it & nauseous for days after. I can’t imagine being addicted to it, and feeling like that every time I’m not actively using.
If your addicted you don't feel like that. It always gave me a energy boost. Only time I felt like what you said was when I didn't have it. I'm so glad to be clean going on 6 years. I hope I never have to deal with it again but every day is a fight a fight I'm winning as of now.
Seems like the effects vary so much person to person. I'm like you and get overstimulated and overly nauseous from opiates but I have a huge predisposition to liking stimulants (where others don't necessarily). Consider yourself lucky friend
Its funny, in the 1980s I was doing research studies for my company on Fentanyl and I had to account for every mg and was observed by a person the entire time I was doing my work. Never would have believed that it would become so prevalent on the street!
There are ways around it, a dope fein will unfortunately find a way to con you.
and yet the war on drugs is still a thing, the government will never admit how much of a failure it is
if you dont mind me asking, how strict were the procedure guidelines?
Surgeon well it has its use in medical procedures like its intended purpose
That's actually interesting. you did research on fentanyl for a pharmaceutical company, I presume?
Please get the help you need and be a fighter, always a fighter and never ever give up. All the help you need is out there for you don’t destroy yourself and your loved ones, and fight for yourself you CAN DO THIS!!
Good luck and God Bless You.
Great research
I'm at 4:19, and saying this for posterity. A major contributing ingredient to the opioid problems in the US is that we culturally treat addiction as a personal moral failing rather than a public health issue.
Well, I've taken opiates for medical reasons for 15+ years. 90% of the time it IS a moral failing as they are actually VERY hard to get physically addicted to is you are using them correctly.
You live in a cave or what? Addiction has been a public health issue and not a personal failing for going on 30 years now ever since it was classified as a disease.
@@nobodyspecial4702 I said culturally, not medically. Did you read that in a cave without lights? Or perhaps you meant to @ the person above you?
@@christinewatson1989 And here is Exhibit A. Were you aware that different people have different levels of susceptibility to addiction? Like, chemically. Their bodies just work badly like that. Are there addicts that were shitty people before? Absolutely. That doesn't change the reality for others though.
Exactly!
How blaming someone else is better than fixing the social problems
The illicit fentanyl can be traced 100% to China. Yes, we have social problems but you can’t deny that the Chinese Communists are flooding the US with the most dangerous drug they can make.
because america is fuelled by conflict and blaming others distracts people from domestic problems
You must find out one of the root cause of the problem. Patching problems with a temporary patch will not solve anything. Its like ants problem in a home, find the queen and ants will be gone.
@@domaticgirl, please. if something is illegally smuggled out of the country, the government doesn't get paid any taxes from it. This should be common sense. What, you think they just file their taxes saying "FENTANYL" despite the fact that possession gets them the death penalty there?? Or you really think China's gov sat around in a room like the British parliament, voting to decide how to force another country to take its opium? Mind you, the British invaded, looted, and coloznied Hong Kong when China imposed a ban on British opium traders. This history is why China and so many Asian countries (with Chinese refugees from the opium wars) have such deep scars from drugs that drugs are heavily penalised in their countries. China got 1.4 billion people, some of them are gonna be bad, and they're gonna be shipping illicit supplies to countries to willing, happy buyers with governments who do not give a crap about their people. Yall got nobody to blame for the drug problem in the US except the US gov. They allowed the problem to become this bad without doing anything. Blaming another country, encouraging divisive speech to stop its domestic population from pointing fingers at the gov or holding it accountable in any meaningful way seems to work anyway, so no wonder change never happens.
It’s been obvious that it’s been China for decades but brainless people like you follow the media and blame Mexico where fentanyl isn’t produced it’s brought over from China
I have seen you on TV and I'm glad I found your channel.
So the Chinese govornment wont allow it to circulate in China but will allow the drug to be shipped to US
Same as the British did to China in the Opion Wars 🙄
@@cryptoslacker-464don’t think the Chinese have gotten over it.
They learned this one from the British
lmao true
funny how karma works
The Brits basically taught the serfs to read on this one
“It’s a tough time to be a young person” is the most underrated statement in this whole video.
This is true for most of history.
The current state of affairs in America reveals a concerning pattern of decline that seems to be slipping under the radar of public awareness. The staggering rise in opioid-related deaths, reaching an alarming 100,000 per year, serves as a grim indicator of a nation grappling with a deep-rooted drug crisis.
As a ripple effect, the homelessness crisis continues to escalate, with the drug problem serving as a catalyst for individuals finding themselves without stable homes. This growing issue, which was once unimaginable just a few years ago, is now becoming an unsettling norm that demands attention.
Equally unsettling is the erosion of societal values and the breakdown of law and order. Instances of brazen crime, where individuals unabashedly seize whatever they desire, highlight a sense of lawlessness that is increasingly taking hold. The erosion of parental authority over their children's health and well-being within the education system adds another layer of concern, as schools take it upon themselves to make life-altering decisions for young minds.
Moreover, the politicization of the justice system is raising eyebrows and deepening the decline. The attempt to hinder the political opposition by levying multiple charges and attempting to bar them from running for office indicates a distortion of democratic principles that were once upheld with fervor.
In essence, this amalgamation of issues paints a picture of a nation in decline, one that is facing significant challenges across various fronts. The disconcerting aspect is that, had this scenario unfolded merely a few years ago, the collective outcry would likely have been resounding. However, the current state of affairs appears to be met with a degree of complacency or perhaps even a lack of realization.
Addressing these concerns and reversing this trajectory of decline will necessitate a collective recognition of the issues at hand and a concerted effort to prioritize solutions. It requires rekindling a sense of unity, holding institutions accountable, and upholding the principles that have historically been the foundation of America's strength and resilience.
There will be no unity with the Phycho-christian right- wing.I won't join them.
Vice : "how did you find the source of fentnyl?"
Guy: "i googled it"
I broke my jaw in 2019 and didn’t get to an ER for over 2 hours, but I felt no pain that whole time. I didn’t even ask for it and I doubt my parents did, but they ended up giving me IV Fentanyl and I got uncomfortably high, and as soon as it wore off I could feel all the pain of my jaw being in two pieces. Of course I asked for more because now I was in terrible pain but they didn’t give it to me. When I got surgery twice that same school year I was denied pain meds both times so I think maybe they listed me as addiction prone or something because I asked for more.
it may not feel like it because you were in so much pain, but they actually did you a favor by hopefully sparing you of actually getting addicted to fent...
@@asundergrowth facts
My fiance is a nurse and he says that they keep notes and warnings on people who are IV Drug Users and people who were seeking drugs in the past.
@Gaetano They track addicts in a lot of ways. There has been a national prescription drug registry developed within the last decade to help address the opioid epidemic. It's a computer database that keeps track of everybody's prescription history, and that tells more than people might think. If they see anything such as suboxone or methadone being prescribed then it's pretty obvious, but even a combination of drugs such as clonidine, baclofen, ondansetron, and hydroxyzine being prescribed at once would be a dead giveaway that that person is an opioid addict because it's the exact sort of cocktail that opioid addicts are given in rehab to help them detox more comfortably. It helps with more than just addicts though. Certain drugs could also give someone away as being bipolar, which would be a good thing to know so that doctors avoid prescribing SSRIs and other drugs which could trigger manic episodes. It's just a good standard to have in place. It keeps the honest honest, if you will.
Yes, but this video will frame China instead of the obviously failing US healthcare system
Fascinating to see how the issues of money driving political will extend far beyond the US borders. In particular, the fact that high level Chinese government (of course) doesn't want to be seen as supporting illicit drug trade, but as you dive down to the local and provincial levels, corruption is (likely) heavily at play in guaranteeing the continued production of fentanyl and related products.
American government doesn’t want to be seen participating in it neither
Imagine thinking the American government isn't responsible for the drug trade in South America and beyond. Literally been documented that the CIA and its operatives have had a hand in it for decades now.
@@BigA678 Beat me to it. Great opening comment as well.
Fascinating how the Degenerate White male..CREATED all of this.
Very fascinating to see this news outlet finally covering something meaningful, a little too late but it is what it is.
Really helpful, and terrifying at the same time. I don't see any end to the supply of cheap drugs du jour, sadly.
Drugs? Where? Veterinary tranquilizer isn't on my menu.
@@l3vo Nor mine for sure. Just sad.
I am a recovering opiate addict, and I stole one of my aunts prescribed fentanyl patches and put it on, I wore it for half an hour but had a bad feeling (didn't really know the dangers I know now), I took it off after half an hour before it could take effect, and I'm so glad I did, I still get shivers thinking about how close I could have come to death.
He’s not lieing, it’s a tuff time to be kid and doing pills or drugs. They will never know what the good times was. May god help us all.
Just stick to licensed dispensaries where it’s legal and dont get to hooked on alcohol or nicotine, is my main mindset as of right now, 22 and have done things..but glad I never got bad into pills, and looks like any type of powder is just dangerous.
@@robbiematthews168 Advice from an X Ecstasy dealer... If you decide to try anything, please never try opioids or benzos bc they're too addicting. Ecstasy on the other hand is the miracle molecule, as long as you control how much you take. Just make sure you test your product and make sure you get 100% pure MDMA 👍👍
@@robbiematthews168 anything powder or pill is just dangerous. Getting it from a unknown stranger or friend is not worth it.
It's a good and bad time. Legalization is starting to gain traction and could be promising in the future. But yes, atm it is very risky and my thoughts and prayers go to those who can't legally cultivate their own psychedellics.
@Metacashica and Pennytera RCs have been found in cannabis too
We need more people talking about this
the fact that americans cannot take responsibility for anything?
@@jamesmitch9792 the ones that don't outrank the ones they do. America isn't the only one with this problem
@JackTastickk I try, but substantive discussion that requires more than thinking: this==good, this==evil doesn't appeal to many Americans.
this whole interview is just about two man talking with each other, there is not a single piece of solid evidence in the video. I really couldn't understand that why you just believe them. do you still remember the WMD of Iraq?
Very informative
*And the beat goes on !*
🤔
Providing patients with adequate pain relief medication is essential to avoid more deaths. The irony is that now people are dying from lack of proper opioid treatments. Take Prince for example, if his pills were prescribed by a doctor instead of a dealer he would still be alive today.
the big government kills
Yep a ton of doctors have their hands tied by government regulations that never see a patient. The problem now is fent and yet the government keeps focusing on prescriptions. I wasn’t for legalization for most drugs however with fent it almost seems better to try going back to what it was a bit.
Prince was pill head. Had multiple pill prescriptions under different names and doctors. .
I've had trauma dealing with OD patients. An addict(w/ multiple drug usage) was brought to the ER. I went to get samples for blood testing. Was about to approach when he suddenly got up, pulled his IV needle and began stabbing the nurses and me. One got critical, others got minor injuries and me stabbed 3x in the gut. Then later finding out that there will be no compensation and I have to pay half of my hospital bills. I quit that day.
That’s awful
Did you guys do a blood test, fuckers in prison give each other hep-c and HIV this way
sorry dude
Prove it
Sounds like either stimulant psychosis, or the medics gave too much naloxone and pissed him off. I've had similar experiences. They'll throw you right under the bus in favor of a patient/client. And why in the hell didn't they search him? That needle should NEVER have made it into the ED on his person. Healthcare sucks, I would never want to work in that field again unless I had no choice
It makes me think of the opium wars.
Ya same here. The west caused an entire century of humiliation in China, one of the oldest civilisations on the world. They are taking their revenge now
@@thatonedudenextdoor7840
Colonisation was a terrible thing, and we’re still struggling with the consequences of it.
Yeah it's not a nice thought that your drug pusher wants revenge for a 180 year old grievance. And that they believe a close by country belongs to them thanks to pirate law. Yargh! So no to drugs kids!
@@robbiegrant1449 it may have started 180 years ago but China only really started recovering at all in the 50s and only really started recovering in the 90s. It's not called the century of humiliation for nothing. And more than that, there has been no word of apology, no act of reparation or any indication that the west regrets pushing drugs on China partially through the opium wars.
There can be no forgiveness.
@@robbiegrant1449
“What goes around comes around”?
This answer's my question, where did this mixed drug come from , unbelievable
Dealers chopping it down, mix and rebranding it for marketing purposes
From DEA website: "Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid typically used to treat patients with chronic severe pain or severe pain following surgery. Under the supervision of a licensed medical professional, fentanyl has a legitimate medical use.". So according to US law, Fentanyl is a controlled drug, not an illegal drug.
Thank you for being one of the few intelligent comments here. Fentanyl and other opiates enable many people with severe chronic pain to live comfortably, work, provide for their families, and keep a roof over their heads.
Well said. Media need to start clarifying this immediately. **ILLICIT** fent.
I think people realize the difference between regulated fent patches and injections (although those can easily be abused as well so should be handled very carefully), and fent cooked up in Chinese labs and distributed by cartels. Even legal fent though, is something that should be taken incredibly seriously by doctors and patients.
@@PlaySA It IS taken seriously by those who have a medical necesity. Patronizing people doesn't stop addiction or ODs. Stirring up hysteria doesn't stop addiction nor ODs.
It becomes illegal once the controlled drug is outside the supervision of a practicing pharmacist/doctor, in which black markets for the drug do exist.
These kind of documentaries make it extremely difficult for people with chronic pain to obtain these pain killers.
I for example suffer from interstitial cystitis and it is impossible for me to get opioid pain killers prescribed by my doctor because of the demonizing of these drugs by the media.
You should blame the people getting themselves killed over these drugs.
50 second ad that I can't skip tf
when fentanyl hit the streets, I went to rehab.........try not to look back.
VICE: please note that the irrelevant stock video footage is distracting. There's nothing wrong with just focusing on sticking with the interviewees, what they had to say is very interesting.
Lmao. I was just thinking "am I watching schoolhouse rock"....
Looks relevant to me, not happy with the faces you see?
Oh yer cort lets hope the billion dollar multi national, who performs massive market studies and sweeps for what media consumers wants, will listen to your opine and change their format!!!
I think they do that bcuz nowadays ppls attention span is so short that they can't listen to just an interview, they need pretty colors and moving parts, SMH. It's sad but true, so if they want to capture a younger audience just putting the interview out by itself won't work.
It's actually giving me the opportunity to read the comments without worrying about missing a clip. This isn't more than anyone could do.
Amazing how they never mention the doctors who abruptly cut patients off which causes them to hit the streets. Start charging doctors for cutting patients off just like they do if they prescribe too many and this crisis will end.
Look up that handle 👆⬆️ his got psych products and mushroms🍄🍄….
The DEA license a doctor must have to write such scripts is more important to them than some poor chronic pain patient in need of relief.
The truth of the matter is the drug problem will never get better. We're human beings
I love how they slipped in a shot of Dan Backslide in this documentary lol
Please remember not to demonise a chemical, or place moral judgement on it. Perpetuating the demonisation of chemicals is what got us all into this War in the first place.
Look up that handle 👆⬆️ his got psych products and mushroms🍄🍄.
Corrupt Reagans are what got us in this FALSE war on drugs smfh
Dude we need to be following Switzerlands model and not being so judgemental with everybody cause not everyone is the same and we all deserve to be treated fairly and heard.
"The Swiss, in keeping with their national stereotype, kept meticulous records. They found data to support the program through years of scientific study and strict randomized controlled trials before incorporating HAT into the law.
Since then, the number of new heroin users in Switzerland has declined. Drug overdose deaths dropped by 64 percent. HIV infections dropped by 84 percent. Home thefts dropped by 98 percent. And the Swiss prosecute 75 percent fewer opioid-related drug cases each year."
Thats a really good comment and im happy to read those kind of things more and more often. Stop the stigmatising and start healing the psychological wounds which lead to addiction in the 1st place. Dont blame the substance, the substance is just that. education and decriminalise all substances so people can choose doses and not play a dangerous game guessing it .
@@ZIKZSENSE indeed, there's a severe lack of compassion for those who suffer from mental illness as well as addiction. It's a society-wide problem. I've grown to realize that until we're able to (as a country/society whatever) take care of the people who are the hardest to help, we're never going to be able to "progress" towards any brighter tomorrow. I reckon it's very much "the chain is only as strong as it''s weakest link" type thing. At the VERY least, I'd like to see more people at least TRY to be understanding that there are people who suffer these afflictions for all sorts of reasons and just because THEY can't see themselves doing it, that doesn't mean those who do suffer ought to be treated like crap.
What goes around comes around 😂
Supply and demand right? If we didn’t have an insatiable thirst for drugs then there wouldn’t be things like this happening. It’s crazy, half if not more of the kids i went to school with are either dead, in and out of jail, or addicted to opiates. I thankfully got out but i miss my dudes. Something went horribly wrong with my generation in my hometown. I’m so glad i got away from it before the whole fentanyl thing kicked off.
If our Government is Allowing these Drugs across the Border, which is a Billion dollar Industry who do we Blame? The Supplier, the User or the Median?
Drugs are bad mkay
Our government isn't "Allowing" these drugs into the country. Its like playing wack-a-mole with 10's of thousands of Chinese criminals smuggling drugs in every imaginable way and then some. China helps control their end depending on their frame of mind towards the US. In other words they use this as a tool to get their way. If you drop a tarrif or don't complain about our Confucius institutes we can do more. Hundreds of thousands of Americans die from the drugs china could easily stop flowing out of their country. Seems to me they are the biggest Cartel of them all. They always speak about taking down the country from within if you listen to chinas professor's & pundits talk about America..Its very disturbing.
The US can't control the all the smuggling because the trade volume is so large there aren't enough DEA people to police all the incoming ships. That's just one reason.
don't forget the opioid crisis was caused by the Sackler family's for-profit company Purdue Pharma, who conspired with doctors to push addictive drugs ... and since they own the politicians, the Sacklers are gonna get a plea deal that just fines them a fraction of the billions they made in profit
unless you want to live in a pre-1800 world, you need to enable international trade of legal goods the way it is. At that, there is no way to control even 10% of all imports, especially not in the ports. So no, there is no government willingly letting these illegal or controlled substances into the country. It just has no way of stopping it.
I thought it was obvious. The user of course. It's much easier to oppress another portion of the population than to stop the rich making more money.
Your next special should be
"how the pharmaceutical industry is fuelling America's drug epidemic."
don't forget the opioid crisis was caused by the Sackler family's for-profit company Purdue Pharma, who conspired with doctors to push addictive drugs ... and since they own the politicians, the Sacklers are gonna get a plea deal that just fines them a fraction of the billions they made in profit
Yup!!
Or making everyone slowly but surely crazy. 60 percent of Americans are on Anti-Psychotics..
They've already covered Purdue, the Sackler's etc. multiple times.
this has been covered in a dozen different videos.
8:07 I'm from Brazil, and here there's an epidemic of "K2 and Spice" very sad to see people walking around like zombies
So sad all the people that have and will die from these evil drugs..
You would think that Vice could hire competent editors to produce a video with consistent audible sound and without such terrible background noise.
If only America had it's own chemists that could make the drugs in the US, so that way they could do quality control and ensure that the product wasn't going to kill people. That sounds like it would be a nice way of protecting your own citizens.
People aren't going to stop taking drugs, and people aren't going to stop selling drugs.
So the best approach is to ensure that the drugs are bought and sold, are at least safe to their consumers!
Jeremiah, this is exactly what we're debating here in Canada. As you can guess, though, the conservatives are opposed to anything that would 'enable' drug users.
😂
The true reason why dealers lace fentanyl with every drug now is to have the users more addicted. They don’t need to put a lot for them to feel it and want more, it’s a way for dealers to keep their client. It’s not because of the high at all, it’s all about money.
*I'll refer you to this dude online I got some grams of N-N DMT LSD Mushrooms Lean Adderall MDMA Xanax and other psychedelic products and he also ship discreetly to any location**
He's on telegram
Rubby_tripstore ✓✓✓
Always always be in control of your prescription Rx’s as well. You can do that.
Yep, many people blaming it on the doctors or drug, nope, it’s the individuals fault. No one forced anyone to take anything.
The recent Opioid crisis in America was self caused though
Just greed
exactly, the opioid crisis was caused by the Sackler family's for-profit company Purdue Pharma, who conspired with doctors to push addictive drugs ... and since they own the politicians, the Sacklers are gonna get a plea deal that just fines them a fraction of the billions they made in profit
Exactly, I still dont see why they must pin China for practically everything when the whole situation was very much self caused.
there's plenty of homeless young people out there hooked on opioids that were toddlers when the oxy prescriptions were notoriously high. their opioid addiction has nothing to do with previous legal prescriptions.
Somehow people keep forgetting only US have a Fentanyl problem. If your situation is that special, it is on you.
I'm pretty sure everyone knows it's China. We've known that pretty much from the start.
i remember detoxing from both benzo and opiates and was so bad. today im 57 days clean from methadone and 15 years clean from benzos
like so many things it comes down to Money and Morals. I hope people start putting family and community ahead of fleeting sensations.
Anyone reading please stay away from drugs. You won't earn anything
Kind of like, "The dollar is our currency, but it is your problem" said by a US Treasury secretary.
But with the borders the people coming over here building the buildings apartment some of them is in with the cocktails bring all that poison over here profiting
The real question isn't about THE DRUG - but as to why Americans are TAKING IT !?!
the cure is in taking a hard look at our broken society
I remember being addicted to xanax for the longest and a part still is but ever since fentanyl it is almost impossible to get anything not laced on the street. I personally dont like the way these fakes make you feel but it seems everyone else is still taking these, feel bad for all the teens thinking they are taking something legit
L2darkweb nerd
Ha. Yep
The problem too with Fent, is that because it wears off so quickly. You need to use more times a day, where a heroin user would use maybe 2 times max a day and they don't need to re-dose. Also if you were using any weaker opiates, like Heroin. You would basically not get high off of it anymore because Fentanyl would make your tolerance increase by x50. So sad, as a Heroin user, in a country where we get clean Heroin, its sad to see how badly its effected the US and Canada! Apparently if you've made it through the flooding of the market in the US and Canada in the last 8 years, you are maybe 2/10 that survived the wave :( I promise you would be surprised how many people have used and how it can be a far less dangerous drug if the government are the ones controlling it, not just the production but instead of saying "NO TO DRUGS" teach kids about Narcan and about the drugs they're most likely to come in contact with in their teenage years, it being socially unacceptable makes people do it discreetly and in such a dangerous way! Being informed about what your going to use takes the chance of a OD and many other problems that people have to take... Because lets be honest, people are always going to be curious and some people are always going to try it at some point in their life... So why not be safe!
The Chinese are still (understandably) mad about the Opium Wars.
Absolutely. The Chinese don't forget. They spend more than a century planning and waiting for a good moment to defeat the Xiongnu once and for all, 2000 years ago. They know how to make long term plans, truly long term, whereas western politicians are only planning for a few years at most, because then they lost their presidency anyways and who cares what happens afterwards
Thank you so much! I just watched a video about a young college student who died suddenly of fentanyl poisoning. I am impacted concerning drug and sex trafficking and the possibility that China is producing it in great quantities, along with their purchase of farmland in the United States to farm marijuana and to make a tremendous profit, along with the opiate production that is destroying our young people at this alarming rate! Thank you for this video!
I've had patches in the past but I stopped using them as I had loads of side effects. I've tried countless meds over the years, but the only once that have ever helped is Longtec, Shortec and Pregabalin to help with my chronic pain and phantom pain.
Ben is a super chill dude. I got to hangout with him when his book was first released and he signed my book with "Here's hoping for two lines on your fent strips"
Lmao iconic
Northeast corridor the largest opioid market in the world has a interesting mix of fentanyl analogs and other drugs like xylasine 4fa etc that give the fentanyl a much longer action
Very informative*
It’s always some country feeding the drug crisis in America but the American govt. itself is stuck with old methods of treating addicts. The govt. has to take more responsibility. This is not political or republican vs democrat matter. It’s for the people.
Also these are not drug cartels, they're regular pharma companies who make all types of legal prescription drugs for domestic use. Majority of their profit is not from gray market precursors. China doesn't regulate fentanyl precursor like the US simply because Chinese people don't abuse these drugs or are always looking newer chemicals to get high off of. That is uniquely a western problem.
@@dsong2006 drugs are bad mkay
@@firstlast8258 it's not about drugs being good or bad...if these company mostly serve the domestic market, and there is no drug problem in China and their way of dealing with it is with harsh penalty like death or long prison sentences, what incentive is there for the gov to increase regulations. Why should they think about how foreigner are using these chemicals? You can turn most chemicals into drugs if there is a will. Look at the types of drugs Russians are using
@@dsong2006 🤓
@@dsong2006 It's not even a Western problem. It's an AMERICAN problem (and Canada, but same thing).
Man I'm glad I cleaned my act up. I never shot anything or stuff like that, but I was definitely taking too many pills (I wrecked my back lifting weights about 7 years ago). I was definitely not as bad as some, but it was becoming a problem so I just decided to quit altogether. I'm glad I did because it's really getting crazy out here. I feel a million times better even with my back pain staying the same (Actually getting worse by the day.) I even quit drinking. I feel much better now.
Id recommend going to physical therapy if you can
@Ciello ___ oh I actually stay very active and still frequent the gym, I just mind the spine. Nothing like squats r anything that puts downward pressure on my spine like that. But I can sneeze wrong and can't tie my shoes for 3 days. Holy hell LoLz
@@lunaticgaming7967 Yikes, but same here. Went cold turkey after being on Narco 10’s for 4 years due to slipped discs causing pressure on nerves in my back. It sucks when I move the wrong way (and it doesn’t take much) and have pain for days afterwards. But I’ll never go back to the pills. So glad I never got into Oxy or Fentanyl!
True stay clean and live a happy normal life is the best thing ever u can do in this crazy world, no joke hands down...
8:44 - what is up with the clips of these old ass computers? What did this guy like do his fentanyl investigation back in the 1980s or something?
Thnx, can you make it more deadly plz
This is one of the most relevant and important pieces Vice has done. Take notes kids.
Look up that handle 👆⬆️ his got psych products and mushroms🍄🍄..
Painfully enlightening.
people don't listen.
I heard rumors about this. I thought it made sense. As long as their population doesn't have access, their Government doesn't really care.
Damn, can't even take some ecstasy nowadays without having some doubts in the back of your head. Such a shame.
Was addicted for about only 4 years thankfully, am now 3 years sober, I was to the point to where smoking a whole pill would only give me a 15 minute high and I’d have to smoke another one, it was horrible, I’d probably die now if I took even a grain.
Fentanyl is becoming more common in New Zealand too. There is an epidemic here. China also fuels South East Asia, Australia, New Zealand as well as the United States. It's cheaper than some ingredients used to make Methamphetamine.
But here in Europe its extremely rare, they refuse to import that. We go east for our H, rather than to SA which maybe why.
@@MK-tx6te I wouldn't say it's "rare" not to have it in Europe. Because you have Turkiye importing large quantities of opioids and methamphetamine which contains Fentanyl. Turkiye is in the top 5 largest drug exporters in the world lol. It's everywhere. Nowhere is safe.
As someone who was a “victim” of the first wave “opioid crisis” (the only crisis was the DEA forcing dependent patients off prescription drugs and doctors forcing those using illicitly to choose inpatient rehab or to detox at home)
I remember around 2010 when the fentanyl patches became a big thing.
This was a direct result of cracking down on oxy 80s when they were 20 bucks and you could still snort them.
The correct move would have been to allow people to buy 1 pill a day at a pharmacy (this could have been tracked even at the time to prevent smurfing and hoarding by using the system they used for pseudo-ephedrine and ephedrine products)
I know at least a dozen people who would be alive if the DEA had simply monitored and focused on harm reduction with medical practitioners and cracking down on illicit drugs over prescription drugs (I think prescriptions are less risky, easier to find and most disgusting of all carry a MUCH higher margin of return for their civil asset forfeiture business)
The Perdue pharma case and the lawsuits against pharmacies and prosecutions of doctors angers me.
More harm is done when you withhold prescriptions which someone is either (and the great MAJORITY) Iatrogenically dependent and you stigmatize and CRIMINALIZE them because in the Drug Enforcement’s medical opinion that person doesn’t need that prescription or even illicitly dependent they should NEVER be denied a dose or some kind of relief from withdrawal.
A person who takes benzodiazepines for a long time can die from pharmacies holding prescriptions, doctors cutting them off, and they can have serious consequences now that all of our medical information is available to the federal government through changes to selective services, and the patriot act making files intended for use by MEPS under the DoD is freely available to DHS, CBP, FBI, ATF, and because the DEA has a Homeland Security component, they may also view your prescriptions and entire medical history (albeit they would need to build a case for probable cause and get a warrant or they wouldn’t be able to use it in criminal court, but you can bet that it won’t be long til those with a prescription to a chemical in the CSA will face more scrutiny and not just by doctors and pharmacies but by federal law enforcement as well as local police as they are now included in information sharing for homeland security purposes… I guarantee that it will be used as a pretext to seize assets under civil asset forfeiture and having cash and a prescription in your name will be a “preponderance of evidence”)
But going back, I don’t blame the pharmaceutical companies, I don’t blame the doctors, I don’t blame the pharmacies.
The blood is almost EXCLUSIVELY on the DEA’s hands.
Dependence is VERY treatable. Addiction is treatable.
I don’t believe we really had victims per se of the opioid crisis until the SECOND WAVE.
I consider anything after the DEA crackdown on “over” prescribing, when people, MOSTLY LEGITIMATE PAIN PATIENTS were suddenly forced off of medications they were Iatrogenically dependent on, because their doctors were threatened with charges or losing their license or they had met their “maximum prescribing limit” (basically, every doctor was treated the same way and would need special permission to prescribe more of a drug to the TOTALITY if their patients… so a pediatrician and a cancer specialist were given the same prescribing limits, if they hit their limit because they saw a lot of pain patients, you were SOL, and you certainly couldn’t go see a different doctor or you’d never be treated for pain under any circumstances ever)
We’re opioids a problem in that period of about 2007-2010, yes, but I honestly don’t think it was much different from any other era in modern drug use history… American had also become far more sedentary and unhealthy, something that can exacerbate pain.
If we have the DEA, why do we even have doctors? If the DEA who has nearly the same authority as your private health insurance company to dictate how your medical conditions should or should not be treated… why do we allow doctors to hold medical opinions?
Why bother having licensed doctors who went to school?
It should have been handled by the medical industry, not by the DEA, who was given billions more in taxpayer federal reserve debt to incentivize even less qualified local police departments to abuse who they called “victims” of the pharmaceutical companies. This benefitted large finance companies, created a poorly trained, hyper-aggressive domestic standing army that could be raised in minutes to occupy every city, town, village and block with military hardware they only use to execute warrants to seek contraband and not to stop any violent crime.
The DEA killed my friends.
The DEA caused the homeless crisis.
The DEA caused the opioid crisis.
But yeah, I remember the days of cutting a tiny corner off a fentanyl patch… it was hard to do and scary, but when you can’t find an OC…
Don’t worry. It wasn’t all for nothing. Let’s be happy for the big suits upstairs who got a massive pay day from all of this. We should be celebrating 🙌🏻🙏🏻🙌🏻🎁🎁🚨🎁🚨🙌🏻
Thank god for the men who protect us from these horrible drugs and shame on the careless people who got addicted to the pills being forced down their throats by doctors who got bonuses from prescribing those dangerous drugs 😡😡
They want us all dead or in prison, not harm reduction. Thanks USA
Yeah the DEA did it, not the lack of education or common sense not to do drugs
I am from EU, and got curious and researched on opioids. USA in 2012 had 81 opioid perscriptions per 100 person. In 2014 where i live 57% of population used perscription drugs, which includes pain killer and anny other perscription drug. Think about this for a moment, you used more pain killers with opioids than all my nation used ANNY KIND of perscribed medicine (maybe its not the best comparison but you get the point). And you say pharmacies are not at fault?
I didn't even know hospitals used fentanyl until I woke up from a coma scratching and twitching 🤦🏾♀️😒😒🤔😩😩😩🤧
Scotland apparently has good quality coke now according to itv news
Its like blaming the chef for eating too much.
Good job, Vice! You managed to keep up with the rest of us!
Blaming Mexico, blaming Colombia, now blaming China, the US blaming everybody themselves... If there wasn't a market, there would not be a supply.
Yep exactly. They use it in hospitals because its cheaper then morphine.
Thats like blaming China for the opium addictions in the 1800s due to the british importation of it into the chinese public. lol there wouldnt be a problem if there wasnt a supply of the substance to begin with =P
Its Capitalism
Thats a dumb way of thinking. Humans are human. They do human things
This is literally just like the opium wars when Britain was pumping opium into China and causing huge amounts of damage to the people and economy, yet everyone freaked out about that and said it was wrong. How is this any different?
There isn't any government in the world that dosen't rely on the sale of drugs, period.
I’m having flash backs of Refer Madness watching this.
I had fentanyl during dental surgery. Only found out later reading the paperwork
I had fentanyl for a biopsy and it knocked me out, but I don't remember feeling good or different. I awoke as if nothing happened. If they'd OD me, I never would have known.
Had to do it for an ambulance ride (am allergic to regular opioids) and it did exactly nothing for my pain, and I wasn't impaired by it at all. The hospital mistakenly thought I was a drug addict and delayed my surgery, suing them right now.
The fety in the hospital isn’t the same . Street fety is diff that hospital grade fety . The nurses also would never od u bc again it’s Medi-Cal grade fety
Lol how to unnecessarily make things focusing on you
This is horrifying!