Drug Historian Challenges Trump’s War on Fentanyl | Amanpour & Company

Nov 25, 2025 | While America pursues a drug war with Venezuela marked by lethal strikes on boats accused of carrying so-called "narco terrorists" (a move which has faced much criticism over its legality), at home the country continues to face a fentanyl issue which is killing thousands of people every year. Drug historian David Herzberg joins the show to speak on the mechanisms behind the crisis and the administration's actions towards Venezuela. | Originally aired on November 25, 2025

Poland’s Fentanyl Crisis | DW Documentary

Nov 25, 2025 | Fentanyl is estimated to be fifty times as potent as heroin and is extremely addictive. The number of people in Poland abusing this powerful painkiller is growing. There have been dozens of fatalities.

Michal lives in a small town south of Gdansk. Because of the stigma surrounding people with addiction, he prefers to remain anonymous. Every two weeks, he travels to Święciec to take methadone, a substitute drug, at the addiction clinic of the psychiatric hospital.

After using various drugs, he started taking fentanyl, the strongest of all opiates. Fentanyl is used to treat people with severe pain and as an anesthetic. Addicts remove the gel from pain patches and inject it directly into their bloodstream. There have been dozens of fatal overdoses in Poland.

Michal has also lost one of his close friends. Corrupt pharmacists are believed to have sold large quantities of fentanyl patches to dealers. The authorities have since put a stop to this.

In Żuromin, Jadwiga Karpinska lost her son Pawel to a fatal overdose. Their town, a two-hour drive from the capital Warsaw, was known as the country’s unofficial fentanyl capital in 2024. That changed when police detained a well-known local dealer.

The drug continues to be available there, but in smaller quantities. Elementary school teacher Adam Ejnik believes in prevention. He wants to keep his students away from the drug by raising awareness about its dangers.

Artur from Łódź has managed to get off fentanyl. A few years ago, he was so addicted, he had lost the will to live. Today, his girlfriend Agnieszka helps him stay clean. His goal: he hopes to finish his psychology degree and work as a therapist to help other addicts get off the extremely powerful drug.

USA: Alle 7 Minuten stirbt jemand an einer Überdosis Fentanyl | auslandsjournal

Oct 16, 2023 | In den USA verbreitet sich die gefährliche Droge Fentanyl immer weiter. Diese ist 50-mal stärker als Heroin, alle sieben Minuten stirbt jemand in dem Land an einer Überdosis. Schon bei der Herstellung drohen erhebliche gesundheitliche Einschränkungen bis hin zum Tod.

ZDF-Reporter Benjamin Daniel und ZDF-Reporterin Steffanie Riess treffen zwei Mitglieder des Sinaloa-Kartells und dürfen bei der Herstellung der extrem gefährlichen Droge zuschauen. In Mexiko ist Fentanyl der Verkaufsschlager der Kartelle.

Der Stadtteil Kensington der Stadt Philadelphia ist ein Drogenhotspot, hier wird auf offener Straße gedealt, konsumiert und gestorben. Sarah war fentanylabhängig, heute ist sie clean und hilft mit ihrer Hilfsorganisation "Savage Sisters" anderen Abhängigen in dem Stadtteil. Mit dabei haben sie immer das Gegengift Naloxon. Denn manchmal geht es um Leben und Tod.


Dies ist noch ein Bericht, der gar nicht für Kinder geeignet ist. – Mark