Chapter 6 - The History of Opioids and The Horror of Fentanyl

Chapter 6 explores the dangerous world of opioids and how we reached the current drug landscape with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, driving the increase in overdose deaths in the country. We define tolerance and withdrawal syndrome, and talk with experts Jennifer Harmon, crime lab director, and Chelsea Carter, supervising criminalist, from the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, about fentanyl. We travel through the evolution of both legal and illegal drug production, and how our addictions to various drugs led cartels to create fake pills filled with fentanyl. We hear a heart-wrenching story from Rita and Dave Palet, who lost their son to accidental fentanyl poisoning, and San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan talks about the pressures young people face today, the dangers of drug experimentation, and how to handle difficult situations.