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Fentanyl is a pharmaceutical drug that can be prescribed by a doctor to treat severe pain. But like its predecessors, that drug has been illegally manufactured and sold by criminal gangs.

The president has called the crisis an \\u201cAmerican tragedy\\u201d but many angles to the epidemic lie elsewhere in China and Mexico.

Ben Westhoff was the first journalist to enter a Chinese fentanyl lab posing as a buyer. He spoke with us about the origins of the epidemic, the scale of the problem for US towns and cities and the hope that exists for solutions to the crisis.

If you, or someone you know, have been affected by any of the issues discussed in this podcast, please visit BBC Action Line to find information on organisations that can help. You can find it here: www.bbc.co.uk/actionline

HOSTS: \\n\\u2022 Sarah Smith, North America editor\\n\\u2022 Marianna Spring, disinformation and social media correspondent \\n\\u2022 Anthony Zurcher, North America correspondent

GUESTS: \\n\\u2022 Ben Westhoff, author of Fentanyl, Inc.

GET IN TOUCH: \\n\\u2022 Join our online community: https://discord.gg/qSrxqNcmRB \\n\\u2022 Send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 9480\\n\\u2022 Email Americast@bbc.co.uk\\n\\u2022 Or use #Americast

US Election Unspun: Sign up for Anthony\\u2019s new BBC newsletter: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68093155

This episode was made by Chris Flynn with Rufus Gray, Catherine Fusillo, Claire Betzer and Natasha Mayo. The technical producer was Hannah Montgomery. The series producer is George Dabby. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.