NARRATOR: Fentanyl was first created in Belgium in 1960.

[music]

NARRATOR: It was designed for use in surgery

and to treat the most severe forms of pain.

Over time, American pharmaceutical companies

found a profitable way to market related opioid medications

outside hospital settings.

Since I've been on this new pain medication

I have not missed one day of work,

and my boss really appreciates it.

NARRATOR: Prescription surged, and patients

were reassured that the risk of addiction was low.

Less than 1% of patients taking opioids actually

become addicted.

NARRATOR: They were very wrong.

As fatal overdoses skyrocketed, doctors made prescription

opioids harder to get.

Addicts turned to heroin, and the crisis got worse.

Then in 2015, fentanyl emerged on the black market

in a big way.

Potent, cheap, and readily available on the streets

without a prescription.

In the US, overdose rates exploded to record highs.

But here in Mexico, fentanyl became a boon

to the underworld economy.