It’s 50 times stronger than heroin. So potent, three grains are lethal to an adult. First synthesized in the 1960s, it’s been used to treat severe pain in cancer patients.

Today, fentanyl has two main sources: the prescription drug industry, and Mexican drug cartels. And it’s the quiet culprit behind the current “heroin” crisis, one of the deadliest drug epidemics in American history.

In the documentary above, “Death by Fentanyl,” Fusion’s The Naked Truth investigates the rise of fentanyl in all its forms … and its sometimes deadly consequences.

In the stories below, learn how fentanyl first hit the streets, Breaking Bad-style; how the drug has transformed life in one major U.S. city; and how some of its legal manufacturers also profit from drugs to reverse its deadly effects.

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