Notes

Introduction

1 Bailey Henke went on a road trip. Kain Schwandt, author interview, June 12, 2018.

2 “I’d never tried it until Bailey brought some over one day.” Tanner Gerszewski, author interview, June 27, 2018.

3 “We had a really nice Christmas.” Laura Henke, author interview, June 24, 2018.

3 “Fentanyl is the deadliest drug in America, CDC confirms.” Nadia Kounang, “Fentanyl Is the Deadliest Drug in America, CDC Confirms,” CNN.com, December 12, 2018.

4 As of 2017, Americans were statistically more likely to die from an opioid overdose than a car accident. Kevin Flower and Meera Senthilingam, “Odds of Dying from Accidental Opioid Overdose in the US Surpass Those of Dying in Car Accident,” CNN.com, January 14, 2019.

4 Overdose death rates among African Americans, middle-aged women. Ashley Welch, “Drug Overdose Deaths Skyrocket among Middle-Aged Women,” CBS News, January 10, 2019.

4 And young people. Assistant US attorney James Delworth, head of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force for the Eastern District of Missouri, author interview, October 25, 2018.

4 Opioid deaths expected to increase 147 percent by 2025. Qiushi Chen, Marc R. Larochelle, Davis T. Weaver, Anna P. Lietz, Peter P. Mueller, Sarah Mercaldo, Sarah E. Wakeman, Kenneth A. Freedberg, Tiana J. Raphel, Amy B. Knudsen, Pari V. Pandharipande, and Jagpreet Chhatwal, Journal of the American Medical Association, “Prevention of Prescription Opioid Misuse and Projected Overdose Deaths in the United States,” February 1, 2019. Author note: The rates are expected to increase 147 percent by 2025, compared to 2015 rates.

4 The deadliest drug in Sweden. National Operations Department, Polisen (Swedish Police Authority), Swedish National Threat Assessment on Fentanyl Analogues and Other Synthetic Opioids, October 2018, https://polisen.se/siteas-sets/dokument/ovriga_rapporter/fentanyl-analogues-report-english.pdf.

4 “Today, we are facing the most deadly crisis in America’s history.” Jeff Sessions, “Attorney General Jeff Sessions Delivers Remarks at the Department of Justice Opioid Summit,” Office of Public Affairs, US Department of Justice, October 25, 2018, https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/attorney-general-jeff-sessions-delivers-remarks-department-justice-opioid-summit.

4 “Fentanyl is the game changer.” Keegan Hamilton, “How Fentanyl Gets to the U.S. from China,” Vice News, December 22, 2017.

5 China produces over 90 percent of the world’s illicit fentanyl. Linda Massarella, “Schumer Wants Fentanyl to Be Part of Talks with China,” New York Post, May 13, 2018.

5 “The most disruptive innovation in the history of the international drug trade.” Vanda Felbab-Brown, Jonathan P. Caulkins, and Keith Humphreys, “How Synthetic Opioids Can Radically Change Global Illegal Drug Markets and Foreign Policy,” Brookings Institution, April 30, 2018.

7 “It got a bunch of my aggression out.” Channing Lacey, author interview, June 12, 2018.

9 Ulbricht was finally arrested at a San Francisco library in 2013. Nick Bilton, American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road (New York: Portfolio/Penguin, 2017), 282.

9 “BTH King of the Dark Net!” PRxBlack [sic] (vendor name), “The one, the only, pdxblack from Agora (H man with super rep) has opened up a second shop on TE as pdxwhite! Finally people of TorEscrow, get some FIRE H with full-escrow!!!” Reddit.com/r/torescrow, March 9, 2014.

10 “Heroin wouldn’t even get me past sick anymore.” Bree (pseudonym), author interview, June 9, 2017.

10 Originally from Colombia, Ceron had come to Canada as a child. Paul Cherry, “Aspiring Montreal Crime Kingpin Charged in Connection with Fentanyl Overdoses in U.S.,” Montreal Gazette, August 18, 2015.

10 Ceron’s cut from a sale might be $10,000. Paul Cherry, “Aspiring Montreal Crime Kingpin Charged in Connection with Fentanyl Overdoses in U.S.,” Montreal Gazette, August 18, 2015.

11 A street value of $1.5 million. Sarah Volpenhein, “Oregon Man Indicted in Fatal Grand Forks Overdose Case,” Grand Forks Herald, March 19, 2015.

13 Operation Denial received special recognition. Office of National Drug Control Policy, “White House Recognizes Superior Drug Interdiction Efforts,” Whitehouse.gov, November 1, 2018.

14 “Combating the flow of fentanyl into the United States is a top priority.” US Department of the Treasury, “Treasury Sanctions Chinese Fentanyl Trafficker Jian Zhang,” Treasury.gov, April 27, 2018.

14 They did not have “solid evidence” that he broke Chinese law. Keegan Hamilton, “Exclusive: China Won’t Arrest Two Fentanyl Kingpins Wanted by U.S.,” Vice News, December 21, 2017.

14 Most NPS were invented in labs in Europe and the United States. “Fentanyl Becomes the Black Swan!” Securities Times, December 2, 2018, http://news.stcn.com/2018/1202/14700181.shtml.

16 “They should come out and say it.” Rong-Gong Lin II, “ER Doctors: Drug-Fueled Raves Too Dangerous and Should Be Banned,” Los Angeles Times, August 10, 2015.

17 “You don’t see many ecstasy overdose deaths.” Author interview, Emanuel Sferios, February 10, 2016.

17 “Molly means, like, anything now.” Ashley Haynes, author interview, April 29, 2016.

18 “There are a seemingly infinite number of possible new chemical compounds.” Elaine Cesare, author interview, June 1, 2016.

18 Called the synthetics industry “hydra-headed.” United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2013 (Vienna: United Nations, May 2013), publication no. E.13.XI.6.

18 “Criminals are always one step ahead of law enforcement.” “UN: China Synthetic Drugs Trade ‘Out of Control,’” Al-Jazeera, June 28, 2016.

20 “This is an act of war.” Erin Vogel-Fox, “Lawmakers Step off Capitol Hill to Explore Solutions to Opioid Crisis,” Sinclair Broadcast Group, n.d.

20 “It’s almost a form of warfare.” John Fritze, “President Trump Threatens to Sue Opioid Makers, Says Crisis Is ‘Warfare,’” USA Today, August 16, 2018.

20 “Where it becomes a national security emergency.” Sandy Winnefeld (guest host), “Former DEA Special Agent Derek Maltz on Opioids and Transnational Crime,” Intelligence Matters (podcast), November 6, 2018.

One

26 “It was our holy mission, to cure the world of its pain.” Sam Quinones, Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic (New York: Bloomsbury, 2015), 188.

27 More than twice as likely to write OxyContin prescriptions. Patrick Radden Keefe, “The Family That Built an Empire of Pain,” New Yorker, October 30, 2017.

27 Purdue’s own study from 1999 found the rate to be 13 percent. Ibid.

28 “It’s in 1996 that prescribing really takes off.” Ibid.

28 “A jail sentence is a deterrent and a fine is not.” Arlen Specter, “Evaluating the Propriety and Adequacy of the Oxycontin Criminal Settlement,” Hearing before the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, July 31, 2007, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-110shrg40884/html/CHRG-110shrg40884.htm.

28 2015 study, psychiatrists at Washington University in St. Louis. Theodore J. Cicero and Matthew S. Ellis, “Abuse-Deterrent Formulations and the Prescription Opioid Abuse Epidemic in the United States,” Jama Psychiatry 72, no. 5 (May 2015): 424–30, doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2014.3043.

28 2018 study at the University of California, San Francisco. Sarah G. Mars, Daniel Rosenblum, and Daniel Ciccarone, “Illicit Fentanyls in the Opioid Street Market: Desired or Imposed?” Addiction, December 4, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1111/add.14474.

29 Fentanyl doesn’t have much in the way of nicknames. Laura Kurtzman, “Drug Wholesalers Drove Fentanyl’s Deadly Rise, Report Concludes,” UCSF News Center, December 4, 2018, https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2018/12/412466/drug-wholesalers-drove-fentanyls-deadly-rise-report-concludes.

29 “Sexual relations with doctors in exchange for Subsys prescriptions.” Julia Lurie, “Behave More Sexually”: How Big Pharma Used Strippers, Guns, and Cash to Push Opioids,” Mother Jones, May 31, 2018.

29 The FDA had information about doctors prescribing Subsys. Emily Baumgaertner, “F.D.A. Did Not Intervene to Curb Risky Fentanyl Prescriptions,” New York Times, August 2, 2018.

29 Congress allowed it—and even encouraged it. Scott Higham and Lenny Bernstein, “The Drug Industry’s Triumph over the DEA,” Washington Post, Oct. 15, 2017.

30 “Few lawmakers knew the true impact the law would have.” Scott Higham and Lenny Bernstein, “Did President Obama Know Bill Would Strip DEA of Power?” Washington Post, October 16, 2017.

30 “Four more are dying from switching to heroin and fentanyl.” Zachary Siegel, “The Opioid Epidemic Is Changing Too Fast for Any Solutions to Stick,” The Cut, October 18, 2017.

31 “The issue of counterfeit drugs is more complex.” “Over Half of U.S. States Have Now Seen Fatalities from Counterfeit Drugs Made with Fentanyl,” Partnership for Safe Medicines, August 16, 2018.

31 [Prince] may not have realized he was taking counterfeit medication. “Prosecutor: Evidence Shows Prince Thought He Was Taking Vicodin, Not Fentanyl,” CBS News, June 18, 2018.

31 Cocaine production is at an all-time high. Deborah Bonello, Ángela Olaya, and Seth Robbins, “GameChangers 2018: As Opioids and Cocaine Boom, the Americas Wilt,” InSight Crime, January 9, 2019.

32 Fentanyl was involved in two of five cocaine overdose deaths in 2016. Holly Hedegaard, Brigham A. Bastian, James P. Trinidad, Merianne Spencer, and Margaret Warner, “Drugs Most Frequently Involved in Drug Overdose Deaths: United States, 2011–2016,” National Vital Statistics Reports 67, no. 9 (December 12, 2018).

32 African Americans … nearly twice as likely to die from cocaine overdoses. Charles Fain Lehman, “White Lines, Black Epidemic,” American Conservative, August 6, 2018.

32 In Massachusetts, cocaine used in conjunction with fentanyl. Martha Bebinger, “To Anyone Using Illicit Drugs in Mass.: ‘There’s a Very High Likelihood Fentanyl Could Be Present,’ Official Says,” CommonHealth, WBUR, August 24, 2018.

32 In Ohio, cocaine was often mixed with carfentanil. Dennis Cauchon, “STUDY: Carfentanil in cocaine caused overdose death spike in Dayton.” harmreductionohio.org.

Two

34 “The most prolific drug inventor of all time.” James Black, “A Personal Perspective on Dr. Paul Janssen,” Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, March 17, 2005.

34 “Come up with something better yourself, then.” Paul Janssen, “A Personal Memoir,” Collegium Internationale Neuro-Psychopharmacologicum, Fall 2000.

35 “We didn’t even have a calculator.” Ibid.

35 “I often watched him at meetings.” Black, “Personal Perspective.”

36 He tested the effectiveness of these creations. Paul Lewi, “Drug Design With Dr. Paul Janssen” (monograph), 2010.

36 Fentanyl came on faster, was much more powerful, and wasn’t as likely to cause nausea. Dr. Samuel Ives, author interview, April 4, 2018.

36 “Fentanyl, … made it possible for the first time.” Janssen, “Personal Memoir.”

36 “Fentanyl is a good medicine but a bad drug.” Andrew Cass, “United Nations Commission Takes Step to Combat Fentanyl’s Deadly Rise,” News-Herald (Ohio), March 17, 2017.

37 Robert Dripps … agreed to a compromise after being lobbied by Paul Janssen. Theodore H. Stanley, Talmage D. Egan, and Hugo Van Aken, “A Tribute to Dr. Paul A. J. Janssen,” International Society for Anaesthetic Pharmacology 106, no. 2 (February 2008).

37 “China White is a sort of fantasy for [opiate] addicts.” Darryl Inaba, quoted in US Navy Medicine 77, January–February 1986.

38 “Let the fantasy roll.” Alexander Shulgin and Ann Shulgin, TiHKAL: The Continuation (Berkeley, CA: Transform Press, 1997), 145.

38 “You could walk around with a shopping bag full of it.” Jack Shafer, “Designer Drugs,” Science 85, March 1985.

39 New discoveries leading to advancement in Parkinson’s research. Claudia Wallis, “Surprising Clue to Parkinson’s,” Time, June 24, 2001.

40 Sweden, which lacks an analogue act. National Operations Department, Polisen (Swedish Police Authority), Swedish National Threat Assessment on Fentanyl Analogues and Other Synthetic Opioids, October 2018, https://polisen.se/siteassets/dokument/ovriga_rapporter/fentanyl-analogues-report-english.pdf.

40 Carfentanil was responsible for killing more than eleven hundred Ohio residents. “Ohio’s Carfentanil Death Rate 21 Times Higher—Yes, 2000%!—Than in Other States,” HarmReductionOhio.org, August 6, 2018.

41 “Anything goes, as long as it’s not fatal if you use it the first three times.” Julijan “Sidney” Picej, author interview, December 2, 2017.

41 “He made a few grams of the drug—millions of doses.” Shafer, “Designer Drugs.”

41 “Perhaps hundreds, … maybe thousands.” Ibid.

42 “The future drugs of abuse will be synthetics rather than plant products.” Gary Henderson “Designer Drugs: Past History and Future Prospects,” Journal of Forensic Sciences, March 1988.

Three

43 “A kind of regional wholesaler to dealers from cities around the Northeast.” Edmund Mahony, “Stalking a ‘Serial Killer’ Narcotic from Boston to Wichita,” Hartford Courant, February 23, 1993.

43 “They want to find some of it for themselves.” Evelyn Nieves, “Toxic Heroin Has Killed 12, Officials Say,” New York Times, February 4, 1991.

43 “Syringes were still embedded in their arms.” Knight-Ridder Newspapers, “Intensive DEA Investigation Uncovers Lethal Fentanyl Drug Lab in Wichita,” Baltimore Sun, February 17, 1993.

44 “The very best illicit chemist in the history of American drugmaking.” Cristina Costantini, Darren Foster, and Mariana Van Zeller, “Death by Fentanyl,” Fusion, February 1, 2016.

44 “An anti-drug film in which a mouse on LSD chased a cat.” “Drug Wizard of Wichita,” Newsweek, June 20, 1993.

45 “I read the forensic science literature religiously.” Costantini, Foster, and Van Zeller, “Death by Fentanyl.”

46 He never made any money off it. Marvin Wilson, author interview, June 22, 2017.

47 “No way known to medical science.” Bill Mesler, “The Pentagon’s ‘Nonlethal’ Gas,” Nation, January 30, 2003.

47 “To my knowledge, no such strategy exists.” Anna Edney, Bloomberg, “Senator Seeks Strategy to Prevent Fentanyl Terror Attacks,” January 28, 2019.

47 A thousand or more Estonians died from fentanyl and 3-methylfentanyl. Ryan Hoskins, “What Canada Can Learn from Tiny Estonia’s Huge Fentanyl Problem,” Globe and Mail (Canada), June 17, 2016.

47 “The dealers realize it’s easier to traffic and package fentanyl than heroin.” Ibid.

48 2016 study showed Estonia to have the highest increase. Naomi Thomas, CNN, “US Has Highest Rate of Drug Overdoses, Study Says,” November 12, 2018.

48 United Kingdom … buys more fentanyl from the Dark Web than any other European country. Ceylan Yeginsufeb, “Fentanyl Adds Deadly Kick to Opioid Woes in Britain,” New York Times, February 4, 2018,

48 Now, because of the fentanyl analogues. National Operations Department, Polisen (Swedish Police Authority), Swedish National Threat Assessment on Fentanyl Analogues and Other Synthetic Opioids, October 2018, https://polisen.se/siteassets/dokument/ovriga_rapporter/fentanyl-analogues-report-english.pdf.

48 European and Eastern European countries are also starting to see fentanyls from China. Author interview, Martin Raithelhuber, January 25, 2019.

48 European fentanyl … stolen from pharmacies. Martin Raithelhuber, Author interview, January 28, 2019.

48 Until recent years, European fentanyl was procured … from Russia. Roumen Sedefov, Author interview, June 23, 2017.

48 Russia itself imports vast quantities of ecstasy. Mike Power, “We Went Undercover in a Chinese MDMA Factory,” Mix Mag, May 29, 2018, https://mixmag.net/feature/we-went-undercover-in-a-chinese-mdma-factory

48 Synthetic cannabinoids from China. At the Chemsky lab outside Shanghai I saw untold quantities of synthetic cannabinoids, and the proprietors told me much of it was headed for Russia.

49 [Russia] has widespread public-health problems with … heroin and “bath salts.” Victoria Kim, “Bath Salts Are a Big Problem in Russia, Especially for Women,” The Fix, December 20, 2017, https://www.thefix.com/bath-salts-are-big-problem-russia-especially-women.

49 Russia also harbors a huge psychonaut community. Anton (pseudonym), psychonaut, author interview, April 8, 2017.

49 Mafia-run laboratories in Azerbaijan. William Leonard Pickard, author interview, November 19, 2018.

50 Phyllis Riley, doesn’t believe he knew the drug was used illicitly. Phyllis Riley, author interview, November 16, 2017.

50 “Any competent chemist could make the substance.” John Noble Wilford, “U.S. Drug Sleuths Finally Solve Mystery of the Deadly China White,” New York Times, December 30, 1980.

50 “We weren’t thinking of it as a new heroin.” Marvin Wilson, author interview, June 22, 2017.

52 “The quality of ‘El Diabolito.’” Costantini, Foster, and Van Zeller, “Death by Fentanyl.”

52 “It brings more business.” Ricardo Franklin, author interview, October 15, 2018.

52 “Most people, they want to be drooling.” Jack Sanders (pseudonym), author interview, July 15, 2017.

52 Duragesic was approved by the FDA. “Janssen Duragesic Fentanyl Transdermal Patch Approved for Chronic Pain, One Weed After NDA Day,” Pink Sheet, August 13, 1990.

52 “False or misleading.” Fred Schulte, “Rival Opioid Makers Used the Oxy-Contin Panic to Cash In,” Daily Beast/Kaiser Health News, July 30, 2018.

53 Fentanyl was prescribed by doctors 6.5 million times. Drug Enforcement Administration, Diversion Control Division, “Fentanyl,” Drug &. Chemical Evaluation Section, October 2018.

53 Duragesic patches … are manufactured in the United States … and Belgium. Andrew Wheatley, author interview, September 10, 2018.

Four

55 “We … have quietly acceded to a non-scientific authority.” Alexander Shulgin and Ann Shulgin, “Barriers to Research,” Yearbook for Ethnomedicine and the Study of Consciousness: The Continuation, iss. 2, 1993. (This was also published in TiHKAL.)

56 “The depths of my memory and my psyche.” Alexander Shulgin and Ann Shulgin, PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story (Berkeley, CA: Transform Press, 1991), 17.

57 “He argued to his superiors that this could be therapeutically important.” Solomon Snyder, in Etienne Sauret (dir.), Dirty Pictures, Breaking Glass Pictures, 2010.

57 He coached the famous psychedelic chemist Nick Sand. Paul Daley, author interview, May 26, 2017.

59 Shulgin first synthesized MDMA in 1965. Shulgin’s protégé Paul Daley says he has confirmed this account by way of Shulgin’s notebooks.

59 “I feel absolutely clean inside.” Shulgin and Shulgin, PiHKAL, 736.

59 “An easily controlled altered state of consciousness with emotional and sensual overtones.” Alexander T. Shulgin and David E. Nichols, “Characterization of Three New Psychotomimetics,” in The Psychopharmacology of Hallucinogens (New York: Pergamon, 1978).

60 Zeff … introduced MDMA to “countless other therapists.” Shulgin and Shulgin, PiHKAL, 74.

60 The new “yuppie psychedelic.” Bill Mandel, “The Yuppie Psychedelic,” San Francisco Sunday Examiner &. Chronicle, June 10, 1984.

60 “Premature to extrapolate the present findings to humans.” Jane Leavy, “Ecstacy: The Lure and the Peril,” Washington Post, June 1, 1985.

61 “Cookbooks on how to make illegal drugs.” Drake Bennett, “Dr. Ecstasy,” New York Times Magazine, January 30, 2005.

62 It’s snorted like cocaine. Toby Muse, author interview, November 28, 2017.

63 “He was saddened seeing it escape.” Paul Daley, author interview, May 26, 2017.

63 “If MDMA hadn’t been scheduled.” Ann Shulgin, author interview, May 26, 2017.

63 Approximately one of every thirteen Americans suffers from post traumatic stress disorder. PTSD: National Center for PTSD, “How Common Is PTSD in Adults?” US Department of Veterans Affairs, ptsd.va.gov, n.d.

63 “They take the MDMA and have this expansiveness.” Josh Dean, “How MDMA Went from Club Drug to ‘Breakthrough Therapy,’” Wall Street Journal, October 18, 2017.

Five

64 Rare type of sassafras tree prized for its capacity. Mike Power, Drugs Unlimited: The Web Revolution That’s Changing How the World Gets High (New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2013), 119.

64 Known as mreah prew phnom, it’s found. Sam Campbell, “Harvested to Make Ecstasy, Cambodia’s Trees Are Felled One by One,” PRI GlobalPost, August 30, 2009.

65 “Some erroneously suspected that it was used for yama.” Tom Blickman, “Harvesting Trees to Make Ecstasy Drug,” Irrawaddy, February 3, 2009.

65 “The illicit distilling of sassafras oil in these mountains.” “Ecstasy Tabs Destroying Forest Wilderness,” Irin News, July 20, 2008.

66 “There wasn’t any MDMA to be had.” Maia Szalavitz, “How Legal Highs and the Internet Are Transforming the Underground Drug World,” Alternet, November 24, 2014, https://www.alternet.org/2014/11/how-legal-highs-and-internet-are-transforming-underground-drug-world/.

67 “I got bored.” Matt Bowden, author interview, February 29, 2016.

67 “We are surrounded by water and have strong border controls.” Eleanor Ainge Roy, “Making Meth: How New Zealand’s Knack for ‘P’ Turned into a Home-baked Disaster,” Guardian, July 12 2016.

68 [BZP] first came onto the DEA’s radar in 1996. J. R. Kerr and L. S. Davis, “Benzylpiperazine in New Zealand: Brief History and Current Implications,” Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, March 16, 2011, https://doi.org/10.1080/03036758.2011.557036.

69 “This light shined down upon this man.” Maia Szalavitz, “The Drug Lord with a Social Mission,” Pacific Standard Magazine, March 2, 2015.

70 “Piperazines were the first new drug to adulterate MDMA that we saw.” Rainer Schmid, author interview, April 10, 2017.

70 [BZP was New Zealand’s] second-most-popular recreational drug. Kerr and Davis, “Benzylpiperazine in New Zealand.”

71 “I’m not actually promoting drug use.” Hamilton Morris, “Hamilton Morris Meets New Zealand’s Synthetic Drugs Baron,” Vice, July 15, 2016.

71 “No record of any death, long-lasting injury or illness.” Kerr and Davis, “Benzylpiperazine in New Zealand.”

72 “They gave me this little packet.” Szalavitz, “The Drug Lord with a Social Mission.”

Six

73 “50mg didn’t do too much.” Kinetic (pseudonym), “4-Methyl Methcathinone,” Hive (archived at Erowid.org), April 4, 2003.

74 “I prefer mephedrone to MDMA.” Mike Power, Drugs Unlimited: The Web Revolution That’s Changing How the World Gets High (New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2013), 129.

74 “He was a very busy guy.” Frank Langfitt, “A Chinese Chemical Company and a ‘Bath Salts’ Epidemic,” Morning Edition, NPR, June 16, 2014.

74 Sentenced [Eric Chang] to fourteen years in prison. Author interview, Erika Kinetz, February 1, 2019.

74 Relatively mild punishment [for Eric Chang]. Author interview, Reiner Pungs of the International Narcotics Control Board, August 13, 2018.

75 “Khat is alcohol for Muslims.” Andrew Lee Butters, “Is Yemen Chewing Itself to Death?” Time, August 25, 2009.

75 [Flakka] had a particularly lethal run in the Fort Lauderdale, Florida, area. “After Ravaging Florida, Street Drug Flakka Disappears,” CBS News/Associated Press, April 8, 2016.

75 [Flakka] more popular … than cocaine. David Adams and Zachary Fagenson, “Cheap, Synthetic ‘Flakka’ Dethroning Cocaine on Florida Drug Scene,” Reuters, June 10, 2015.

76 Methylone … developed … as a possible antidepressant. Psychonaut Wiki, “Methylone,” https://psychonautwiki.org/wiki/Methylone

76 [PMA and PMMA linked to] more than one hundred deaths in the United Kingdom. David Nutt, “The Superman Pill Deaths Are the Result of Our Illogical Drugs Policy,” Guardian, January 5, 2015.

76 “It has similar effects to MDMA.” Amy Raves, author interview, March 8, 2016.

78 “Quite simply they will now have to … make sure it is safe.” Peter Dunne, “Drug Law Reversing Onus of Proof on Way,” Beehive.govt.nz, July 16, 2012.

78 “New Zealand’s Designer Drug Law Draws Global Interest.” “New Zealand’s Designer Drug Law Draws Global Interest,” CBS News/Associated Press, August 2, 2013.

80 [Matt Bowden forced] to liquidate his company. Matthew Theunissen, “Party Pill Godfather Matt Bowden Declares Himself Bankrupt,” New Zealand Herald, December 20, 2016.

80 “Fixed assets” of Bowden’s company … sold off. “Party Pill Godfather Matt Bowden Owes $3.5m,” New Zealand Herald, November 26, 2015.

81 “It is believed they have started manufacturing their own product.” Helen King, “Synthetic Cannabis: The Danger Drug Overwhelming New Zealand,” Stuff, August 3, 2017.

81 More than fifty New Zealand fatalities had been tied to synthetic cannabinoids. “Govt Science Institute Testing for Synthetic Cannabis,” RNZ, December 27, 2018, https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/379094/govt-science-institute-testing-for-synthetic-cannabis.

Seven

82 “That’s why most people start smoking it.” Mike (pseudonym), author interview, June 9, 2017.

83 K2 is … a chemical compound … dissolved in a solvent … and then sprayed onto dried plant leaves. Hamilton Morris, interviewed by Allie Conti, “Visiting the Factories in China Where Synthetic Marijuana Gets Made,” Vice, January 19, 2016.

84 “These receptors don’t exist so that people can smoke marijuana.” David Zucchino, “Scientist’s Research Produces a Dangerous High,” Los Angeles Times, September 28, 2011.

84 “These compounds that Huffman made were pharmacological tools.” Terrence McCoy, “How This Chemist Unwittingly Helped Spawn the Synthetic Drug Industry,” Washington Post, August 9, 2015.

84 Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine researchers. Catharine Paddock, Medical News Today, “Colorectal cancer: Scientists halt growth with cannabinoid compounds,” February 8, 2019.

86 [Demi Moore’s] body temperature rose dramatically, and she went into convulsions. Andrew Blankstein and Richard Winton, “911 Tape: Demi Moore Suffered Convulsions after ‘Smoking Something,’” Los Angeles Times, January 27, 2012.

86 [Obama’s] law “was obsolete before the ink … dried.” Brandon Keim, “New Federal Ban on Synthetic Drugs Already Obsolete,” Wired, July 12, 2012.

86 “I think if we talk to a lot of kids five, ten years from now.” Courtney Pero, author interview, April 29, 2016.

87 Synthetic cannabinoids are turning up in oils sold for vaporizers. US Department of Justice, DEA Strategic Intelligence Section, 2018 National Drug Threat Assessment, October 2018.

87 Kevin Hagen … said the company … did not find any synthetic cannabinoids. Janet Burns, “Tests of CBD Oils Reveal Three Surprise Chemicals, One Big Problem,” Leafly, December 20, 2018, https://www.leafly.com/news/industry/tests-of-cbd-oils-reveal-three-surprise-chemicals-one-big-problem.

87 “The highest-level synthetic designer drug trafficker.” US Drug Enforcement Administration, “Top China-Based Global Designer Drug Trafficker Arrested in U.S.,” press release, May 28, 2015.

88 “It’s not like there’s one K2 distributor.” Malcolm Gay, “Synthetic Marijuana Spurs State Bans,” New York Times, July 10, 2010.

88 [Synthetic-cannabinoid vendors mix batches] inside spinning cement mixers. Dennis Wichern, author interview, June 9, 2016.

88 “The spike that we’re seeing.” Paul Mueller, “Clearwater Police See Spice ‘Zombies,’” WFLA.com, March 17, 2016.

89 New England Journal of Medicine report. Axel J. Adams, Samuel D. Banister, Lisandro Irizarry, Jordan Trecki, Michael Schwartz, and Roy Gerona, “‘Zombie’ Outbreak Caused by the Synthetic Cannabinoid AMB-FUBINACA in New York,” New England Journal of Medicine, January 19, 2017.

89 “Even while we were trying to return.” Samantha Schmidt, “‘It Is Taking People Out’: More Than 70 People Overdose on K2 in a Single Day in New Haven,” Washington Post, August 16, 2018.

89 Homeless are particularly at risk. Elly Yu, “Outreach Teams Counsel Users on ‘Unpredictability’ of K2 as Overdoses Top 3,000 for 2018,” WAMU.org, December 4, 2018, https://wamu.org/story/18/12/04/as-overdoses-continue-d-c-outreach-teams-try-to-combat-k2/.

89 Synthetic cannabinoids … tainted with … rat poison. Tandem Media Network, “CDC: Fake Marijuana Can Contain Chemical Used in Rat Poison,” Norwalk (OH) Reflector, December 12, 2018, http://www.norwalkreflector.com/Government/2018/12/12/Public-warned-again-about-synthetic-cannabinoids.html.

90 “Gee it took these people a long time.” Julie Rose, “The Unlikely Clemson Chemist behind Synthetic Marijuana,” WFAE.org, January 25, 2011.

90 2011 study of twenty-five hundred users of both synthetic cannabinoids and marijuana. Adam R. Winstock and Monica J. Barratt, “Synthetic Cannabis: A Comparison of Patterns of Use and Effect Profile with Natural Cannabis in a Large Global Sample,” Drug and Alcohol Dependence, July 2013, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2012.12.011.

90 August 2016 report from the New York City Department of Health. Michelle L. Nolan, Bennett Allen, Hillary V. Kunins, and Denise Paone, “A Public Health Approach to Increased Synthetic Cannabinoid–Related Morbidity among New York City Residents, 2014–2015,” International Journal of Drug Policy 34 (August 2016).

Eight

91 [LSD] has never caused someone to fatally overdose. Leah Walker, “LSD Overdose,” DrugAbuse.com, October 27, 2017, https://drugabuse.com/library/lsd-overdose/; “Only a Handful of People in History Have Ever Overdosed on LSD. This Is What Happened to Them,” IFLScience.com, n.d., https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/only-a-handful-of-people-in-history-have-ever-overdosed-on-lsd-this-is-what-happened-to-them/.

91 “A spiritual black hole” full of “white trash.” Krystle Cole, Lysergic (N.p.: Createspace, 2014, 3rd ed.), 13.

91 [Gordon “Todd” Skinner and Krystle Cole] hit it off. Hamilton Morris, “Getting High on Krystle,” Vice, September 27, 2011.

92 Mind-altering trips … expensive luxuries … cutting-edge music system. Peter Wilkinson, “The Acid King,” Rolling Stone, July 5, 2001.

92 [Kansas silos] built by the government to withstand nuclear attack. “Old War Bunker Becomes Modern Mansion,” Wired, April 19, 2009.

93 “Lots of money being spent and not much happening.” J. Travis, “Missile Site LSD Lab Dismantled,” Topeka Capital Journal, November 19, 2000.

94 [Leary] was finally arrested in Afghanistan in 1973. Nicholas Schou, Orange Sunshine: The Brotherhood of Eternal Love and Its Quest to Spread Peace, Love, and Acid to the World (New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2010), 231.

94 [Pickard’s] much-younger fiancée, a Russian émigré named Natasha. Cole, Lysergic, 26.

94 [Pickard] anticipat[ed] the current fentanyl epidemic. William Leonard Pickard, author interview, February 24, 2017.

95 When tested on animals [LSD] caused them to become “restless during the narcosis.” Albert Hofmann, LSD: My Problem Child: Reflections on Sacred Drugs, Mysticism and Science (Santa Cruz: Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, 2009), 44.

96 Stanislav Grof … LSD’s potential benefits. Ibid, 14.

97 “There were no aftereffects that could be discerned.” Paul Daley, author interview, May 26, 2017. Daley coedited the book Chemical Warfare Secrets Almost Forgotten (Santa Rosa, CA: ChemBooks, 2006), written by Dr. James S. Ketchum, the man who did most of the US Army’s LSD testing.

98 DEA hadn’t busted an acid lab since 1991. Wilkinson, “The Acid King.”

98 [Skinner grabbed] “hundred dollar bills … while [Cole] lay down on the ground.” Cole, Lysergic, 31.

98 Skinner … engaged in “‘smurfing,’ or money laundering.” Wilkinson, “The Acid King.”

98 “Skinner said Pickard had tried unsuccessfully for three years.” Topeka Capital-Journal, referenced in Cole, Lysergic, 139.

98 According to Cole, Skinner believed Pickard was responsible for having this man killed. Cole, Lysergic, 105.

99 Chemicals capable of producing between thirty-six million and sixty million doses of LSD. “Kansas LSD Lab One of Largest in Country,” Associated Press, November 22, 2000.

100 Ely added that he and Pickard had discussed. Mark Portell, “Pickard: ‘I Investigated Drug Trafficking for Government,’” Wamego (KS) Times, March 20, 2003.

100 [Skinner and Cole] lived “like psychedelic royalty.” Morris, “Getting High on Krystle.”

100 “Dosed my house with some sort of mystery psychedelic.” Cole, Lysergic, 168.

100 Hauck and Cole both pled no contest. FindLaw, “Skinner vs. State,” https://caselaw.findlaw.com/ok-court-of-criminal-appeals/1251267.html

101 [Green] said [Cole] actually paid only a small fraction of her debt. Michael Mason, Chris Sandel, and Lee Roy Chapman, “Subterranean Psychonaut,” This Land, July 28, 2013.

101 There is speculation that Skinner was also unofficially being punished. Michael Mason, author interview, April 17, 2017.

101 “90.86 pounds” of LSD they had seized. US Drug Enforcement Administration, “Pickard and Apperson Sentenced on LSD Charges,” press release, DEA.gov, November 25, 2003.

101 Analysis by Slate estimated that the lab had about ten million LSD hits. Ryan Grim, “The 91-Pound Acid Trip: The Numbers Touted by the Government in Its Big LSD Bust Just Don’t Add Up,” Slate, March 14, 2005.

102 “As soon as they got busted, everybody just freaked out.” Mitchell Gomez, author interview, March 24, 2017.

Nine

103 McKinney, Texas, … the best place to live in America. “Best Places to Live 2014,” Money, Time.com/Money, September 19, 2014.

103 “Me and my friends got interested in the spiritual enlightenment that they promise.” Lee Stockton (pseudonym), author interview, April 30, 2016.

106 The number of children affected [by N-bomb overdoses] was much higher. Eric Brown, author interview, March 29, 2016.

106 [Naked student found] walking along highway. Madeline Schmitt, “Three McKinney Teens Overdose on LSD within 24 Hours,” CBSDFW.com, April 5, 2014. Author note: The drug in question was later determined to be not LSD but N-bombs.

106 “When I got there, she was in a powerful [state].” Anonymous source, author interview, April 30, 2016.

107 “Getting too hung up on the exact chemical.” Kristina Domanski, author interview, April 29, 2016.

107 “It’s hard to stay on top of these.” Ashley Haynes, author interview, April 29, 2016.

107 “The dose makes the poison.” Shannon Rickner, author interview, April 29, 2016.

107 Between 25 and 30 percent of … kids … taking these new synthetics. Grace Raulston, author interview, April 28, 2016.

108 “Love you more.” Eric Brown, author interview, March 29, 2016.

108 “Originally, we didn’t want to do anything that crazy.” Jack Brown, author interview, March 29, 2016.

108 [Montana Brown text messages.] Shared with author by Eric Brown.

111 Stephen Wagner…. received six months in jail. Julieta Chiquillo, The Dallas Morning News, “Trio sentenced to prison for roles in Frisco teen’s fatal drug overdose, January 13, 2015.”

112 “He saw lots of damage and lots of dead bodies.” Dr. David Nichols, author interview, August 29, 2017.

113 [Hefter] funded in part by Bob Wallace. Ibid.

114 [Heim’s experiments] with a serotonin receptor known as 5-HT2A. Ralf Heim, “Synthese und Pharmakologie potenter 5-HT2A-Rezeptoragonisten mit N-2-Methoxybenzyl-Partialstruktur,” dissertation, Free University of Berlin, 2003.

114 “Affinity increases up to 300-fold” for the 5-HT2A receptor. Michael R. Braden, Jason C. Parrish, John C. Naylor, and David E. Nichols, “Molecular Interaction of Serotonin 5-HT2A Receptor Residues Phe339(6.51) and Phe340(6.52) with Superpotent N-Benzyl Phenethylamine Agonists,” Molecular Pharmacology 70, no. 6 (2006).

115 “Everything we sell is legal.” Jeanne Whalen, “In Quest for ‘Legal High,’ Chemists Outfox Law,” Wall Street Journal, October 30, 2010.

116 “When people use this stuff chronically.” Ibid.

116 “My laboratory had shown that rats.” David Nichols, “Legal Highs: The Dark Side of Medicinal Chemistry,” Nature, January 5, 2011.

116 An N-bomb drug “creates problems by thickening the blood.” Julian Morgans, “Everything We Know about NBOMe and Why It’s Killing People,” Vice, February 8, 2017.

116 “It was never our intention to develop drugs for people to take.” David Nichols, author interview, August 30, 2017.

117 “Whatever helps him sleep at night.” Eric Brown, author interview, September 8, 2017.

117 “Make it tougher for the bad guys.” Katie Moisse and ABC News Medical Unit, “Chemist David Nichols Haunted by Discovery’s Deadly Misuse,” ABC News, January 7, 2011.

117 “The hallmark of experimental science is reproducibility.” David Nichols, author interview, January 3, 2019.

117 “He published [numerous] papers on PMMA.” David Nichols, author interview, January 25, 2019.

117 “They were already being abused.” Richard Glennon, author interview, September 26, 2017.

118 “I did not develop these agents.” Richard Glennon, author interview, January 24, 2019.

118 “The betterment of well people.” Michael Pollan, “The Trip Treatment,” New Yorker, February 9, 2015.

118 “Most people who have tried N-bombs.” Mitchell Gomez, author interview, March 24, 2017.

Ten

122 During the late 2010s [the factory] was slated for demolition. Chris Naffziger, “Magic Chef Factory, under Demolition,” St. Louis Patina, October 23, 2017.

122 Jack Sanders started going [to the factory]. Jack Sanders (pseudonym), author interview, July 15, 2017.

123 “Third wave” of the opioid epidemic. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Opioid Overdose: Understanding the Epidemic,” CDC.gov, August 30, 2017.

123 Another record-setting year is projected for the region. Blythe Bernhard, “First It Was Painkillers, Then Heroin. Now It’s Fentanyl Driving Record Overdose Deaths in St. Louis Area,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 26, 2018.

123 “There really is no pure heroin in St. Louis anymore.” Ibid.

123 “It really became a problem for us around 2014.” Ricardo Franklin, author interview, October 15, 2018.

123 “Fentanyl has taken over.” Bernhard, “First It Was Painkillers.”

126 “It was my first time ever relapsing straight to fentanyl.” Bree (pseudonym), author interview, June 9, 2017.

126 “We pretty much lost everything to that drug.” Mike (pseudonym), author interview, June 9, 2017.

127 “This change is evidenced by fentanyl being sold as fentanyl.” US Department of Justice, DEA Strategic Intelligence Section, 2017 National Drug Threat Assessment, DEA.gov, October 1, 2017.

Eleven

130 He sells magic mushrooms, DMT, and 25I-NBOMe. high_as_fxck_GER (Dark Web vendor name), author interview, July 18, 2017.

132 “It is like morphine.” French Connection support staff, author interview, July 18, 2017.

132 “We are not normal criminals.” Anonymous Majestic Garden user, author interview, July 1, 2017.

133 “Your kind of making me leery with all your digging.” U4IA (Dark Web vendor name), author interview, July 19, 2017.

135 A Weiku representative told the New York Times that fentanyl wasn’t permitted to be sold. Sui-Lee Wee and Javier C. Hernández, “Despite Trump’s Pleas, China’s Online Opioid Bazaar Is Booming,” New York Times, November 8, 2017.

136 Properly preparing a fentanyl analogue nasal spray. Moderator of online fentanyl forum, author interview, October 2, 2017.

137 “I don’t care about ethics. I’m a drug dealer.” Desifelay1000 (Dark Web vendor name), author interview, July 19, 2017.

138 United States announced it was withdrawing from an international postal agreement. “Trump Pulls US out of UN Postal Scheme on China Price Concerns,” Guardian, October 17, 2018.

138 400 million international packages arrive in the United States every year. Richard Cowan, “China’s Illegal Opioids Enter U.S. Through Postal Service Gaps: Probe,” Reuters, January 24, 2018.

138 China is the starting point for most of these packages. Erika Kinetz, author interview, September 29, 2017.

138 “China doesn’t deny that shipments to the U.S. happen.” Gerry Shih, “China: U.S. Should Curb Demand for Opioids, Not Blame Us,” Associated Press, December 28, 2017.

139 US Senate subcommittee report. US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, “Combatting the Opioid Crisis: Exploiting Vulnerabilities in International Mail,” staff report, January 23, 2018.

139 “We have our people in the postal companies.” GN (vendor name), interviewed by researcher Jada Li, July 30, 2017.

139 New synthetic-drugs dealer who said he and his associates “lie to customs all the time.” Erika Kinetz, author interview, September 29, 2017.

Twelve

140 They used a complicated code, one that didn’t even sound like English. Jack Sanders (pseudonym), author interview, July 15, 2017.

140 Mexicans or Mexican Americans who had come up Interstate 44 from Texas. St. Louis County drug enforcement detective Ricardo Franklin confirms that the majority of the synthetic opioids used in the St. Louis region originate in Mexico. They’re brought over the border, often in Texas, and then up I-44. Ricardo Franklin, author interview, October 15, 2018.

144 More than 90 percent of heroin in America comes from Mexico. Joshua Part-low, “U.S. Has Been Quietly Helping Mexico with New, High-Tech Ways to Fight Opium,” Washington Post, April 15, 2018.

144 Xalisco [cells] fanned out around the United States. Sam Quinones, Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic (New York: Bloomsbury, 2015), 100, 166.

145 “Guys from Xalisco had figured out that what white people.” Ibid, 45.

145 US heroin deaths hovered around two thousand annually for decades. DEA agent Dennis Wichern, author interview, December 16, 2016.

145 [US heroin deaths reached] sixteen thousand by 2017. National Institute on Drug Abuse, “Overdose Death Rates,” August 2018, https://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates.

145 Jalisco Nueva Generation was reportedly the first [cartel] to sell fentanyl. Michael O’Brien, “Fentanyl Changed the Opioid Epidemic. Now It’s Getting Worse,” Rolling Stone, August 31, 2018.

145 Fentanyl is “the most profitable drug the Mexican cartels are trafficking.” Scott Stewart, “Mexico’s Cartels Find Another Game Changer in Fentanyl,” Stratfor, August 3, 2017.

146 “The cartels realize that fentanyl is much more profitable.” Nick Miroff, “Mexican Traffickers Making New York a Hub for Lucrative—and Deadly—Fentanyl,” Washington Post, November 13, 2017.

146 “The only way to have money.” Sean Penn, “El Chapo Speaks,” Rolling Stone, January 10, 2016.

146 Sinaloa earned millions per day [in Canada]. Andrew Russell, “El Chapo’s Sinaloa Cartel Made Nearly $3M a Day in Canada, Former DEA Agent Claims,” Global News (Canada), January 9, 2019.

146 Thirty-three thousand people were killed in Mexico in 2018. Reporting by Delphine Schrank; Editing by Cynthia Osterman, Reuters, “Murders in Mexico rise by a third in 2018 to new record,” January 21, 2019.

147 Sinaloa was distributing more [fentanyl] than any other cartel. Mike Vigil, author interview, November 13, 2018.

147 Fentanyl operation inside a building of the Azcapotzalco municipal government. Carlos Jiménez, “Hallan Narcolaboratorio en CDMX,” Diario Contra Replica, December 27, 2018, https://www.contrareplica.mx/nota-hallan-narcolaboratorio-en-cdmx2018131259.

147 El Chapo’s legal defense “may be funded in part with profits from fentanyl sales.” Miroff, “Mexican Traffickers Making New York a Hub.”

147 “The Chinese role is that of a facilitator.” Joshua Philipp, “China Is Fueling a Drug War Against the US,” Epoch Times, December 18, 2015.

147 “Six customs officials became ill.” US Drug Enforcement Administration, “Counterfeit Prescription Pills Containing Fentanyls: A Global Threat,” intelligence brief, DEA.gov, July, 2016.

148 “It’s near impossible to stop these drugs.” Phil Williams, author interview, August 31, 2017.

148 “Those that control Mexico’s ports are in the best position.” Stewart, “Mexico’s Cartels Find Another Game Changer in Fentanyl.”

148 Sinaloa cartel has laundered vast amounts of drug money in the city’s banks. Bryan Harris, “Mexican Drug Cartels Expand into Hong Kong to Launder Money, Source Chemicals for Ice,” South China Morning Post, April 7, 2015.

148 It was the shipment of a much-larger item through Hong Kong. Jermyn Chow and Joyce Lim, The Straights Times, “SAF armoured vehicles seized in Hong Kong port, Mindef expects shipment to return to Singapore ‘expeditiously’,” November 28, 2016.

148 “These shipments were going on for years and years.” Author interview, Jean-Francois Tremblay, September 6, 2017.

148 Top five “transnational organized crime threats.” Office of the Attorney General, “Attorney General Sessions Announces New Measures to Fight Transnational Organized Crime,” Justice.gov, October 15, 2018.

148 “It’s easier to sidestep into fentanyl.” Deborah Bonello, author interview, November 14, 2018.

149 “Fentanyl can be produced anywhere a laboratory can be set up.” Stewart, “Mexico’s Cartels Find Another Game Changer in Fentanyl.”

149 Fentanyl is cut with many different powders. Taís Regina Fiorentin, Alex Krotulski, David M. Martin, Thom Browne, Jeremy Triplett, Trisha Conti, and Barry Kerr Logan, Journal of Forensic Sciences, “Detection of Cutting Agents in Drug-Positive Seized Exhibits within the United States,” November 28, 2018.

149 There isn’t much indication yet that they [cartels] are involved with NPS. Mario Moreno, author interview, January 1, 2019.

150 A meth-overdose crisis has begun accelerating again in the United States. Drew Kann, CNN, “While America wages war on opioids, meth makes its comeback,” November 6, 2018

150 Some of these schemes involve cryptocurrency. Peter J. Brown, “US Says Drug Gangs Moving Money via China Crypto Channels,” Asia Times, December 28, 2018.

150 The resulting dollars are “washed” in the Los Angeles fashion district. Peter Kouretsos, “Dragon on the Border: Mexican and Chinese Transnational Criminal Networks and Implications for the United States,” Small Wars Journal, n.d.

150 Money-laundering schemes are used in Canada as well. Kathy Tomlinson and Xiao Xu, “B.C. Vows Crackdown after Globe Investigation Reveals Money-Laundering Scheme,” Globe and Mail (Canada), February 16, 2018.

1541 [Fentanyl] “disrupted the Vancouver-area real estate market.” Sam Cooper, Stewart Bell, and Andrew Russell, “Fentanyl Kings in Canada Allegedly Linked to Powerful Chinese Gang, the Big Circle Boys,” Global News (Canada), November 27, 2018.

Thirteen

152 Most fentanyl analogues used in America … originate from mail shipments from China. DEA Strategic Intelligence Section, dea.gov, “2018 National Drug Threat Assessment,” October, 2018.

152 Fentanyl seized at the US border with Mexico averages about 7 percent purity. Mike Gallagher, “Seizures of Deadly Fentanyl Soaring,” Albuquerque Journal, June 5, 2018.

152 “With any enterprise that is getting into another line of business.” Mike Vigil, author interview, January 2, 2019.

153 [Experts doubt] a wall would help abate the opioid crisis. Francie Diep, “How Drugs Pour into the U.S. from Mexico,” Pacific Standard, January 11, 2019.

153 Secret, elaborately engineered underground passages. Ron Nixon, “By Land, Sea or Catapult: How Smugglers Get Drugs across the Border,” New York Times, July 25, 2017.

153 El Chapo masterminded the first such tunnel. Christopher Woody, “‘A Candy Store for Smugglers’: Step inside the Million-Dollar Drug Tunnels That ‘Riddle’ the US–Mexico Border,” Business Insider, April 3, 2016.

153 Customs officials seized only about 1 kilogram of fentanyl in 2013. US Customs and Border Protection, “CBP Border Security Report Fiscal Year 2017,” CBP.gov, December 5, 2017. https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/documents/2017-Dec/cbp-border-security-report-fy2017.pdf.

153 Thirty thousand [fake] oxycodone pills in a vehicle outside Tempe. Sam Hoyle (with wire reports), “DEA Seizes 30K Fentanyl Pills during Enforcement Operation in Tempe,” AZCentral.com, August 18, 2017.

153 In January, 2019, 115 kg of fentanyl was seized. Mike Brest, The Daily Caller, “Largest Fentanyl drug bust in history made as truck tried crossing the southern border,” January 30, 2019.

154 “We’re the main stopping point for the majority of Sinaloa cartel drugs.” Nicole Garcia, “The Human Toll of the Fentanyl Epidemic,” KSAZ-TV, November 13, 2018.

154 “Law enforcement is set up to find volume.” Deborah Bonello, author interview, November 14, 2018.

154 “If state troopers are running interdiction.” Ricardo Franklin, author interview, October 15, 2018.

154 They are subdivided further and farmed out. Nick Miroff, “Mexican Traffickers Making New York a Hub for Lucrative—and Deadly—Fentanyl,” Washington Post, November 13, 2017.

154 “They’re in sleepy towns.” Ken Serrano, “Drug Cartel in NJ: Sinaloa Traffickers Now Live among Us,” Asbury Park (NJ) Press, December 3, 2017.

155 “They know that if they kill people.” Miroff, “Mexican Traffickers Making New York a Hub.”

155 “Places like West Virginia have these relatively new distribution gangs.” Mario Moreno, author interview, November 16, 2018.

156 “It’s not like they’re in a laboratory.” Garcia, “The Human Toll of the Fentanyl Epidemic.”

156 “It’s like playing Russian roulette.” James Delworth, author interview, October 25, 2018.

156 Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, one of America’s largest oxycodone manufacturers. Reuters, “FDA Declines to Approve Reformulated Mallinckrodt Opioid,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 12, 2018.

158 “There’s been this very severe fragmentation.” Deborah Bonello, author interview, November 14, 2018.

158 “The Sinaloa cartel has expanded to over forty countries.” Mike Vigil, author interview, November 13, 2018.

158 White powder heroin … black tar heroin. Mark Stringer, Missouri Department of Mental Health, Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, “Heroin-Related Deaths in Missouri,” January 2011.

158 Fentanyl is often clearly labeled as such [in San Francisco]. Christine Vestal, “Some Drug Users in Western U.S. Seek Out Deadly Fentanyl. Here’s Why,” PewTrusts.org, January 7, 2019.

159 [Western states] showing “significant increases” in synthetic-opioid deaths. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “New Data Show Growing Complexity of Drug Overdose Deaths in America,” CDC.gov, December 21, 2018.

159 “Heroin has a much smaller using population than prescription pills.” Mario Moreno, author interview, November 16, 2018.

159 Investigative study on the Mexican fentanyl trade by InSight Crime. Steven Dudley. InSight Crime. “Fentanyl: Summary &. Major Findings,” February 12, 2019.

Fourteen

162 Seafood dishes spiked with ground-up poppy pods. Barbara Demick, “In China, Poppy Seedpod Is a Spice Too Hot to Handle,” Los Angeles Times, October 21, 2013.

162 Twenty-eight hundred tons of opium per year by the British East India Company. Julia Lovell, The Opium War: Drugs, Dreams, and the Making of Modern China (New York: Overlook Press, 2011), 23.

164 “The Opium War is seen in China as the original sin of Western imperialism.” John Pomfret, “What a Previous Trade War with China Might Teach Us,” Washington Post, August 9, 2018.

164 “In a short period of three years, China wiped out the scourge of opium.” Information Office of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, “Narcotics Control in China,” Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the United States, June 2000.

164 North Korea … trafficked [meth] to subsidize its regime. Brendon Hong, “Kim Jong-un Breaking Bad: The Secret World of North Korean Meth,” Daily Beast, February 7, 2016.

164 [Meth in] garden hoses, handbags, lamps, aquarium pebbles. Dan Levin, “In China, Illegal Drugs Are Sold Online in an Unbridled Market,” New York Times, June 21, 2015.

165 “The villagers would brandish replica AK-47s.” Associated Press in Beijing, “China Deploys 3,000 Police, Speedboats and Helicopters in Village Drug Raid,” Guardian, January 3, 2014.

165 “Ti naodai zou (walking about with your head in your hands).” Ko-lin Chin and Sheldon X. Zhang, The Chinese Heroin Trade: Cross-Border Drug Trafficking in Southeast Asia and Beyond (New York: New York University Press, 2015), 14.

165 “On the day of the execution.” Sheldon X. Zhang and Ko-lin Chin, “A People’s War: China’s Struggle to Contain its Illicit Drug Problem,” Foreign Policy at Brookings, 2016.

166 Raging bonfires … and officials posing like action movie stars. “Lhasa Destroys 1055.17 Kilograms of Drugs,” Xinhua News, June 26, 2013, http://www.gov.cn/jrzg/2013-06/26/content_2434786.htm.

166 Day Against Drugs stamp. “International Anti-Drug Day Commemorative Stamp Issue,” Xinhua News, June 26, 2017, http://www.gov.cn/xinwen/2017-06/26/content_5205600.htm#1.

166 “Let us ask, where is your conscience?” “Lin Zexu (1785–1850) Patriotic Official Fights the Opium Trade,” ShanghaiDaily.com, January 20, 2012.

166 People who are suspected to be addicted are … forced to register … and subsequently tracked. Anna Lembke and Niushen Zhang, “A Qualitative Study of Treatment-Seeking Heroin Users in Contemporary China,” Addiction Science and Clinical Practice, October 19, 2015.

166 An alarm is triggered whenever they use their ID. Chen Min, Chinese drug-rehab employee, author interview, July 6, 2017.

167 Rehab centers … labor camps. Chin and Zhang, The Chinese Heroin Trade, 207–11.

167 “At least in the US we know that detox isn’t treatment.” Anna Lembke, author interview, July 28, 2017.

167 Chinese chemical companies selling drugs for illicit purposes to Western customers. Author research, and data compiled in the spring of 2018 from searches of Chinese e-commerce websites by: Bloomberg News, with assistance by Rachel Chang, Dandan Li, Adrian Leung, and Hannah Dormido, “China’s Fentanyl Crackdown ‘Almost Impossible’ Despite Trump Promise,” Bloomberg, December 3, 2018.

168 “Many manufacturers of fentanyl and other NPS are legitimate companies.” Sean O’Connor, “Fentanyl: China’s Deadly Export to the United States,” US–China Economic and Security Review Commission, staff research report, February 1, 2017.

168 “Some of the pictures of these Chinese labs are sickening.” Dennis Wichern, author interview, June 9, 2016.

168 “The purity is usually high.” Participant in online fentanyl forum, author interview, July 7, 2017.

168 “They are clean.” Desifelay1000 (Dark Web vendor name), author interview, July 19, 2017.

168 “Unlike their counterparts in Latin America.” Zhang and Chin, “A People’s War.”

169 Triads have been involved in the international meth trade. Bryan Harris, “Hong Kong Triads Supply Meth Ingredients to Mexican Drug Cartels,” South China Morning Post, January 12, 2014.

169 “They’re a shadow of their former selves.” Justin Hastings, author interview, March 11, 2018.

169 Cartels basically nonexistent. Chin and Zhang, The Chinese Heroin Trade, 78.

169 Big Circle Boys … allegedly smuggled massive amounts of fentanyl from China. Sam Cooper, Stewart Bell, and Andrew Russell, “Fentanyl Kings in Canada Allegedly Linked to Powerful Chinese Gang, the Big Circle Boys,” Global News (Canada), November 27, 2018, https://globalnews.ca/news/4658158/fentanyl-kingpins-canada-big-circle-boys/.

169 Big Circle Boys sprang from the Cultural Revolution. Ibid.

169 “The sophistication and complexity of the Big Circle Boys’ structure.” P. Wang, “Vicious Circles: Gang Legacy of the Cultural Revolution,” Jane’s Intelligence Review, August, 2011.

170 “China has a deep, visceral understanding of how an Opium War.” Markos Kounalakis, “China Is Using Fentanyl in a Chemical War Against America,” Miami Herald, November 2, 2017.

170 Some observers have called attention. Joshua Philipp, “China Is Fueling a Drug War Against the US,” Epoch Times, December 18, 2015.

170 US Army Special Operations Command white paper report. United States Army Special Operations Command, “Counter-Unconventional Warfare, White Paper.”

170 “Whereas China has gone to war with other drugs that have a demand in China.” Matt Hadro, “Smith Bill Aims to Combat Deadly Threat of Chinese Fentanyl,” Office of US Congressman Chris Smith, ChrisSmith.house.gov, October 26, 2018.

Fifteen

172 That is not true, according to Andrew Wheatley. Andrew Wheatley, author interview, September 10, 2018.

172 Illicit drugs … are for sale on ChemicalBook.com. Chemical Book: Mefentanyl, https://www.chemicalbook.com/ChemicalProductProperty_EN_CB81176407.htm. (Accessed February 12, 2019.)

173 “Take the largest one.” Dowson Li, author interview, January 4, 2018.

174 “China has been an incredible partner.” Associated Press, “Tom Price: China an ‘Incredible Partner’ in Controlling Synthetic Opioid Production,” STATNews.com, August 21, 2017.

174 China has scheduled hundreds of new drugs. Bloomberg News, with assistance by: Rachel Chang, Dandan Li, Adrian Leung, and Hannah Dormido, “China’s Fentanyl Crackdown ‘Almost Impossible’ Despite Trump Promise,” Bloomberg, December 3, 2018.

175 “For the first time, China is expressing some responsibility.” Katherine Tobin, author interview, April 3, 2019.]

175 In 2016 … China appeared to promise to crack down. Sean O’Connor, “Fentanyl Flows from China: An Update since 2017,” US–China Economic and Security Review Commission, staff research report, November 26, 2018.

175 “China can develop human intelligence.” Zhuang Pinghui, South China Morning Post, “What China needs to do to stem the flow of fentanyl to the US,” December 20, 2018.

176 The indictments “mark a major milestone in our battle to stop deadly fentanyl.” Office of the Deputy Attorney General, “Justice Department Announces First Ever Indictments Against Designated Chinese Manufacturers of Deadly Fentanyl and Other Opiate Substances,” Justice.gov, October 17, 2017.

176 [China] did “not have solid evidence to show that they have violated Chinese law.” Keegan Hamilton, “Exclusive: China Won’t Arrest Two Fentanyl Kingpins Wanted by U.S.,” Vice News, December 21, 2017.

176 China’s Narcotics Control Commission said it regularly tips off the US government. Zhao Yusha, “China–US Jointly Fight Drugs,” Global Times, August 29, 2018.

176 [After] US tip … Chinese police in Hebei province began investigating. Ibid.

176 Zhang … earned comparisons to Breaking Bad’s Walter White. Julia Hollingsworth, South China Morning Post, “Former chemistry professor sentenced to life for making and exporting narcotics.” April 14, 2017.

177 “Bo had luxury products like a Mercedes Benz.” “,” rongbiz.com, n.d., http://www.rongbiz.com/info/show-htm-itemid-365987.html. (Accessed February 12, 2019.)

177 Prosecutors gave the accused “a taste of their own medicine.” Ruan Zhanjiang, Zhou Yan, and Yang Yingjie, “The Country’s First Defendants in the Fentanyl Drug Trafficking Case Were Sentenced to Life Imprisonment,” News.CNR.cn, February 20, 2016.

Sixteen

182 [China’s] legitimate chemical industry … created $100 billion in profits in 2016. Bryce Pardo, “Evolution of the U.S. Overdose Crisis: Understanding China’s Role in the Production and Supply of Synthetic Opioids,” testimony presented before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations, September 6, 2018.

182 “Almost any chemical that you want can be made in China.” Jean-François Tremblay, author interview, September 6, 2017.

182 [China’s exports] seen as critical to the country’s continued growth. Stella Qiu and Elias Glenn, “China to Increase Export Tax Rebates on 397 Products,” Reuters, September 7, 2018.

183 Inspections remain sporadic. Sean O’Connor, “Fentanyl: China’s Deadly Export to the United States,” US–China Economic and Security Review Commission, staff research report, February 1, 2017.

183 “Instances of Chinese law enforcement and drug regulators delaying visa approvals.” Ibid.

183 “Lack of coordination and competing regulatory oversight.” Pardo, “Evolution of the U.S. Overdose Crisis.”

184 “‘Semi-legitimate’ producers.” O’Connor, “Meth Precursor Chemicals from China.”

184 “As long as, in China, you can produce chemicals without serious supervision.” Sui-Lee Wee and Javier C. Hernández, “Despite Trump’s Pleas, China’s Online Opioid Bazaar Is Booming,” New York Times, November 8, 2017.

187 “It’s highly potent, showing activity in sub-milligram dosages.” “5F-MDMB-2201,” Drugs-Forum.com, May 4, 2017.

188 “You couldn’t really protect the IP.” Matt Bowden, author interview, February 29, 2016.

188 They closed the [psychonaut] forum to outsiders. Anton (pseudonym), psychonaut, author interview, April 8, 2017.

190 “So long as the cartels can obtain the necessary chemicals.” Scott Stewart, “The Chinese Connection to the Flood of Mexican Fentanyl,” Stratfor, November 9, 2017.

Seventeen

191 Founded in 1999, Yuancheng employs about 650 people and has branch offices all over China. Ye Chuan Fa, author interview, February 10, 2019.

191 “To quote the people around him.” “Ye Chuan Fa: Hot Spring ‘New Generation,’” Wuhan Morning News, 2007.

193 Chen Li … goes by Abel, because it is “an English name.” Chen Li, author interview, October 20, 2017.

193 “Below 10 kg is express delivery, above 10 kg by air.” Chen Li, author interview, October 17, 2017.

193 “Food additives officially.” Alisa (sales name), author interview, October 18, 2017.

193 These fentanyl precursors were available “for export only.” Kay, author interview, September 30, 2017.

194 “My friend we sold this product in large quantities.” Ian.Dang (Skype name), author interview, October 11, 2017.

194 “Ye Chuan Fa dresses exceptionally plainly.” Jean-François Tremblay, “Central China Gets in Gear,” Chemical &. Engineering News, April 26, 2004.

195 “They had all sorts of businesses.” Jean-François Tremblay, author interview, December 12, 2017.

195 Ye was born in Wuhan in 1953, the son of parents who were factory workers. Ye Chuan Fa, author interview, February 10, 2019.

195 “Everything was in demand: watches, stereos, leather.” “Ye Chuan Fa: Hot Spring ‘New Generation,’” Wuhan Morning News, 2007.

195 “As insurance against a crackdown on the rich.” Jean-François Tremblay, “Central China Gets in Gear,” Chemical &. Engineering News, April 26, 2004.

195 “People who have eaten at Jia Ye.” He Jianbao, “Wuhan Yuancheng: Stepping onto the New Economic Stage,” Changjiang Daily, April 21, 2006.

196 “The biggest opportunities in China.” Jean-François Tremblay, author interview, December 12, 2017.

197 News account [about stolen trade secrets]. “A Pharmaceutical Company in Hubei Had Their Core Technology Stolen, Intellectual Property Department Stepped in for Rights Advocacy,” Roll.Sohu.com, February 7, 2013, http://roll.sohu.com/20130207/n365778075.shtml. (Accessed February 12, 2019.)

198 Jia Lun didn’t have natural hot springs. “The Boss of Jia Lun Is a Liar,” Tieba. Baidu.com, September 4, 2008, http://tieba.baidu.com/f?kz=474206659.

Eighteen

200 NPP is reacted with a compound called aniline. Siegfried, “Synthesis of Fentanyl,” Erowid.org, August 2004, https://erowid.org/archive/rhodium/chemistry/fentanyl.html.

200 About a thousand people died in cities including Chicago and Philadelphia. “Feds Count More Than 1,000 Dead from Illegal Fentanyl,” Associated Press, July 24, 2008.

201 “I am not aware of any other product.” Martin Raithelhuber, author interview, June 13, 2017.

201 “The U.S. doesn’t import fentanyl.” Melvin Patterson, author interview, July 30, 2018.

201 “There was little scrutiny on their manufacture.” Bryce Pardo, “Evolution of the U.S. Overdose Crisis: Understanding China’s Role in the Production and Supply of Synthetic Opioids,” Testimony presented before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations, September 6, 2018.

201 In 2013 [Yuancheng] “achieved 300 million platform transactions.” Yuancheng recruitment advertisement, June 26, 2015, http://www.deyi.com/thread-6295546-1-1.html. (Accessed February 12, 2019.)

201 “In 2015, the export volume reached 2 billion.” Company introduction, Yuan Cheng Group, n.d., http://www.ychemade.com/about.html. (Accessed February 12, 2019.)

201 Yuancheng has established “good business relations.” Company profile, Hubei Yuancheng Saichuang Technology Co., Ltd., n.d., http://www.hbycgroup.com/about.html. (Accessed February 12, 2019.)

202 Ye Chuan Fa himself admitted as much. Ye Chuan Fa, author interview, February 10, 2019.

202 “A precursor in the synthesis of fentanyl and related opioids.” “Wuhan Hengwo Scien-Tech [sic] Co., Ltd.,” products, n.d., http://www.global.chinaomp.com/space.php?do=product&.userid=wuhanhengwoscientechco.%2Cltd (Accessed February 12, 2019.)

202 “Most the NPP and 4-npp are sold from my company.” Anonymous Yuancheng saleswoman, author interview, October 3, 2017.

202 “Our company is the only manufacture of this product in China.” Chen Li, author interview, January 29, 2019.

202 Documents attached to the letter indicated. Jeanne Whalen, “U.S. Seeks Curb on Chemicals Used to Make Fentanyl, a Powerful Opioid,” Wall Street Journal, October 14, 2016.

203 “Exporting governments have to send pre-export notifications.” Reiner Pungs, author interview, July 31, 2018.

204 Ten legal shipments of NPP and twelve of 4-ANPP. Reiner Pungs, author interview, February 6, 2019.

204 “Double-western route from China to the United States.” Chen Li, author interview, October 20, 2017.

205 “You won’t get in trouble.” Anonymous Yuancheng saleswoman, author interview, October 3, 2017.

205 “Economic Construction Leading Enterprise” award. “This Company Won the Hubei Province Economic Construction Leading Enterprise, 2011,” https://club.1688.com/article/27315168.htm, December 27, 2011.

205 [Yuancheng] wa also certified … an official “New and High Technology Enterprise” (NHTE) in 2011. A database at http://www.innocom.gov.cn contains the list of applications and certifications for NHTEs. (Accessed February 12, 2019.)

205 [Yuancheng] chosen … as one of Hubei Province’s top 10 “innovation companies.” Wuhan Yuancheng Gongchuang Technology Co., Ltd., “‘Top 10 Innovative Companies’ Won by Hubei Yuancheng Pharmaceutical Co.,” http://www.yccreate.com/en/News/2012/1017/107740.html, October 17, 2012. (Accessed February 12, 2019.)

205 In 2016 [Yuancheng] was a finalist in a contest honoring Wuhan’s best entrepreneurs. Hubei Yuancheng Saichuang Technology Co., Ltd, “Wuhan City Top Ten Entrepreneur Contest Organising Committee came to our company for a visit,” http://www.hbycgroup.com/news_detail/id/78.html, December 18, 2016. (Accessed February 12, 2019.)

205 “If you’re a chemical company.” Lucy Lu, author interview, February 21, 2018.

206 [Yuancheng has] 180 “self-developed products” and more than fifty patents. “Hubei Yuancheng Saichuang Technology Co., Ltd.: Company Profile,” n.d., http://company.zhaopin.com/CC621388322.htm. (Accessed February 12, 2019.)

206 “Since China’s new Enterprise Income Tax Law took effect.” Jake Liddle, “Tax Incentives for High-Tech Companies in China,” China Briefing from Dezan Shira &. Associates, china-briefing.com, September 29, 2015.

206 Beginning in 2012, Yuancheng was sponsored for three years by an initiative called the Torch Program. “2012 National Torch Program Key NHTE list,” www.innocom.gov.cn, October 19, 2012. Archived by Wayback Machine: https://web.archive.org/web/20141004033505/http://www.innocom.gov.cn/gxjsqyrdw/xxtg/201211/54da1e194fe943dfa19af6a589d27d82.shtml. (Accessed February 12, 2019.)

206 Torch Program whicvh is run by China’s Ministry of Science and Technology. Joel R. Campbell, Issues in Technology Innovation, “Becoming a Techno-Industrial Power: Chinese Science and Technology Policy,” brookings.edu, April 2013.

206 “In size, scale and commercial results China’s Torch Program.” Steve Blank, “China’s Torch Program: The Glow That Can Light the World,” Huffington Post, April 12, 2013.

207 Yuancheng has also been the beneficiary of the Spark program. Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China, “Notice on the Publicity of the National Spark Program Project Selected in the “Twelfth Five-Year Plan” Rural Science and Technology Plan Preparation Project Library,” Attachement #2, Entry 1104, March 6, 2012. (Accessed February 12, 2019.)

207 Spark Program … “aimed at popularizing modern technology in rural areas.” Editor: Yangtze Yan, Source: Xinhua, “Rural technology ‘Spark Program’ covers over 90% counties,” http://www.gov.cn/english/2006-10/15/content_413723.htm, October 15, 2006.

207 The Innovation Fund has “channeled 3.5 billion yuan of investment.” Zhao Yang, “China, on Its Way to Innovation,” http://english.cri.cn/12954/2015/03/12/1261s869790.htm, March 12, 2015.

207 [Innovation Fund] granted Yuangcheng an award of 500,000 yuan. Innovation Fund for Technology Based Firms, “2012 Project Announcement,” July 6, 2012. Archived by Wayback Machine: https://web.archive.org/web/20150803235439/http://www.innofund.gov.cn/2/sdfed/201402/37c8787020694ada8263469e631a527f.shtml. (Accessed February 12, 2019.)

207 [Yuancheng] won 50,000 yuan for a particular patent. Science and Technology Department of Hubei Province, “Xiaonan District hosted a district wide technology innovation reward ceremony,” http://www.hbstd.gov.cn/sjb/kjyw/dfkj/24363.htm, April 24, 2013. (Accessed February 12, 2019.)

207 Some of Yuancheng’s sub-companies list an address in a special industrial zone. “Company Profile,” Zhuzhou Yuancheng Hezhong Technology Development Co., Ltd., http://steroidfactory.sell.everychina.com/aboutus.html. (Accessed February 11, 2019.)

207 “China has been very generous in building these industrial parks.” Gary Hufbauer, author interview, February 21, 2018.

207 “The high-tech zones have become a major engine to China’s economic growth.” Xinhua, “More High-Tech Zones in China,” Europe.ChinaDaily.com.cn, March 27, 2017.

207 “I think the government, when they approve the company’s application for the subsidies.” Lucy Lu, author interview, February 21, 2018.

208 [5A] located in an economic development zone. Official website of Hubei, China, “Wuhan Livika Technology Co., Ltd,” http://en.hubei.gov.cn/business/enterprises/201607/t20160721_869598.shtml, July 21, 2016.

208 [5A] claimed to have received certification as an NHTE, but this could not be confirmed. Author note: Though I could not verify that 5A was certified as an official NHTE, a webpage devoted to its parent company found at http://livika.lookchem.com/About.html, reads as follows: “5A Pharmatech Co., Ltd () … is honored as the high-tech enterprise which engaged in researching, developing, manufacturing and exporting advanced pharmaceutical intermediates and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API), high-tech electronic materials and other fine chemicals.”

208 “This is horrifying.” Esmé E. Deprez, Li Hui, and Ken Wills, “Deadly Chinese Fentanyl Is Creating a New Era of Drug Kingpins,” Bloomberg, May 22, 2018.

209 One of these employees is Cuiying Liu. US Department of the Treasury, “Treasury Sanctions Chinese Fentanyl Trafficker Jian Zhang,” Treasury.gov, April 27, 2018.

209 [Dezhou Yanling] lists a woman named Cuiying Liu as its legal representative. “Dezhou Yanling Biological Technology Co., Ltd.,” n.d., http://www.11467.com/dezhou/co/57907.htm. (Accessed August 8, 2018.)

209 [Dezhou Yanling] company materials cite its award-winning. YanlingMijiu, “Historical Events,” n.d., http://www.dzylsw.com/lsdsj.asp. (Accessed February 12, 2019.)

Nineteen

211 Difficult to find out which household drugs come from China. Rosemary Gibson and Janardan Prasad Singh, China Rx: Exposing the Risks of America’s Dependence on China for Medicine (Amherst: Prometheus Books, 2018), 28.

211 In 2017 Chinese companies received thirty-eight approvals from the US FDA. Huileng Tan, “China’s Pharmaceutical Industry Is Poised for Major Growth,” CNBC, April 19 2018.

212 “It’s not whether they are going to.” Sui-Lee Wee, “Made in China: New and Potentially Lifesaving Drugs,” New York Times, Jan. 3, 2018.

212 [Fentanyls and precursors get VAT rebates.] Chinese State Taxation Administration, http://hd.chinatax.gov.cn/fagui/action/InitChukou.do.

212 In September 2018, China announced it would raise VAT rebates. Stella Qiu and Elias Glenn, “China to Increase Export Tax Rebates on 397 Products,” Reuters, September 7, 2018, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-tax/china-to-increase-export-tax-rebates-on-397-products-idUSKCN1LN12F.

212 [VAT rebates have] had “a large and significant positive impact.” Piyush Chandra and Cheryl Long, “VAT Rebates and Export Performance in China: Firm-Level Evidence,” Journal of Public Economics 102 (June 2013).

213 In 2012, the US Department of Commerce announced. John Richardson, “US Targets China VAT Rebates,” ICIS, June 24, 2012, https://www.icis.com/asian-chemical-connections/2012/06/us-targets-china-vat-rebates-1/.

213 “Even small variations in these rebates can have a big impact.” Simon J. Evenett, Johannes Fritz, and Yang Chun Jing, “Beyond Dollar Exchange-Rate Targeting: China’s Crisis-Era Export Management Regime,” Oxford Review of Economic Policy 28, no. 2 (July 1, 2012).

213 Only five [Chinese companies] are permitted to [sell medical fentanyl.] “Fentanyl Goes Viral!” China Fund News, December 2, 2018, http://westdollar.com/sbdm/finance/news/1353,20181202997330043.html.

213 Fentanyl is a dominant painkiller [in Chinese hospitals]. “Fentanyl Becomes the Black Swan!” Securities Times, December 2, 2018, http://news.stcn.com/2018/1202/14700181.shtml.

213 Renfu Pharmaceutical [exports fentanyl to] the Philippines, Turkey, Sri Lanka, and Ecuador. Ibid.

214 “Illegally processed and smuggled by underground factories.” “Fentanyl Goes Viral!”

214 Only three types of fentanyls are legally permitted to be manufactured in China. Qi Peas, “Renfu Medicine: No Fentanyl Exports to the United States,” Shanghai Securities News, December 3, 2018, http://news.cnstock.com/paper,2018-12-03,1092044.htm.

214 Ye Chuan Fa said his company takes advantage of VAT rebates. Ye Chuan Fa, author interview, February 10, 2019.

214 “If China had a subsidy on lead.” Bryce Pardo, author interview, November 21, 2018.

214 “As with many of China’s policies, the aid in fentanyls export is myopic.” Justin Hastings, author interview, March 11, 2018.

215 “The primary incentive, particularly for local-level Chinese government officials.” Katherine Tobin, author interview, December 14, 2018.

215 “My feeling is that it’s just like a race.” Nathan Vanderklippe, “China, Claiming Success on Fentanyl, Admits It Is Being Outrun by Criminal Chemists,” Globe and Mail (Canada), June 19, 2017.

215 “For them to shut down an entire legal pharmaceutical company.” Lenny Bernstein and Katie Zezima, “U.S.–China Fentanyl Pact Is Not Expected to Produce Immediate Results,” Washington Post, December 3, 2018.

216 Chinese FDA is once again being reorganized. Bryce Pardo, “Evolution of the U.S. Overdose Crisis.”

216 [Chinese FDA will be absorbed into] the State Administration for Market Regulation. “China’s New State Administration for Market Regulation: What to Know and What to Expect,” Ropes &. Gray, April 3, 2018, https://www.ropesgray.com/en/newsroom/alerts/2018/04/Chinas-New-State-Market-Regulatory-Administration-What-to-Know-and-What-to-Expect.

216 “If the Chinese government pursued drug smugglers.” Nicholas Kristof, “The Dangerous Naïveté of Trump and Xi,” New York Times, November 17, 2018.

216 “They just didn’t see what was in it for them.” Dan Levin, “In China, Illegal Drugs Are Sold Online in an Unbridled Market,” New York Times, June 21, 2015.

216 Mexico’s government “was hesitant to press China.” Jeanne Whalen and Brian Spegele, “The Chinese Connection Fueling America’s Fentanyl Crisis,” Wall Street Journal, June 23, 2016.

217 “The drugs … exploit the differences in drug policing in different countries.” You Yan, Deng Yi, and Zhao Min, Lu Zhou City, “Third Generation Drugs—New Psychoactive Substances,” Na Xi district branch police department, February 2017.

217 Being convicted of drugs sales … could get a public official executed. Justin Hastings, author interview, August 9, 2017.

Twenty

219 Wuhan is … the “capital of petrochemical equipment and fine chemicals in China.” Official website of Hubei, China, “Wuhan Livika Technology Co., Ltd,” http://en.hubei.gov.cn/business/enterprises/201607/t20160721_869598.shtml, July 21, 2016.

220 Ye Chuan Fa still owns the building. Ye Chuan Fa, author interview, February 10, 2019.

222 That number had risen to forty-one. Ibid. 222 “We ourselves only do sales.” Ibid.

222 It has a thirty-thousand-square-meter plant, built to “GMP standard.” Zhuhai Shuangbojie Technology Co., Ltd, n.d., http://www.trademetro.net/exporter-supplier-sell-96671/Zhuhai-Shuangbojie-Technology-Co-Ltd.html.

222 “To be honest, it’s not GMP.” Julie (sales name), author interview, December 13, 2017.

223 The company’s ads promise. Yuancheng recruitment advertisement, June 26, 2015, http://www.deyi.com/thread-6295546-1-1.html.

223 “I don’t know buyers usage.” Sean (sales name), author interview, Oct 11, 2017.

223 “NPP is a sensitive products. Why you buy it?” Anonymous Yuancheng saleswoman, author interview, October 3, 2017.

224 Yuancheng posted a notice on one of its websites. Wuhan Yuancheng Gongchuang Technology Co., Ltd. “Effective, January 27, 2018, All products can only be sold to companies or institutions, and not to private clients,” January 27, 2018, http://www.ycgcbio.com/news/show23253.html.

224 Sub-Saharan African plant … naturally produced tramadol. Tim Wogan, “Painkiller Found in Plants May Not Be Natural after All,” Chemistry World, September 18, 2014, https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/painkiller-found-in-plants-may-not-be-natural-after-all/7757.article.]

225 One hundred kilograms of [Indian] fentanyl … reportedly being prepared for shipment to a Mexican cartel. Srinath Rao, “Seized Opioid Was Bound for Mexico, Key Accused a Known Narcotics Offender: Mumbai Police,” Indian Express, December 29, 2018, https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/seized-opioid-was-bound-for-mexico-key-accused-a-known-narcotics-offender-mumbai-police-5514410/.

225 [India] producing large quantities of synthetic cannabinoids. Yudhijit Bhattacharjee, “How Synthetic Drugs Get into Your Joint,” Daily Beast, May 28, 2017.

225 India has trailed when it comes to scheduling NPSs and fentanyl precursors. Natalie Tecimer, “Tramadol: The Dangerous Opioid from India,” Diplomat, January 19, 2018.

226 “We recommend another stuff that similar to NPP or 4-ANPP.” Kay, author interview, January 12, 2018.

226 “Can these two products replace 4-ANPP?” Author interview, Chen Li, January 9, 2018.

226 “It’s very hot … it sells a lot.” Sean (sales name), author interview, January 28, 2019

226 Yuancheng now had “overseas warehouses.” Author interview, Chen Li, January 29, 2019.

226 Sixteen different known [fentanyl] precursor chemicals. Sean O’Connor, “Fentanyl: China’s Deadly Export to the United States,” US–China Economic and Security Review Commission, staff research report, February 1, 2017.

Twenty-One

231 Nixon … said the target of his drug war was hippies and blacks. Dan Baum, “Legalize It All: How to Win the War on Drugs,” Harper’s, April 2016.

232 “In terms of taking down kingpins.” Ioan Grillo, “El Chapo Puts the Drug War on Trial,” New York Times, November 15, 2018.

232 “See, if you look at the Drug War from a purely economic point of view.” Milton Friedman, from a 1991 television interview, “Friedman &. Szasz on Liberty and Drugs,” on America’s Drug Forum; transcript archived at: https://www.ukcia.org/research/argue/milton.htm.

232 “We have a regulatory system that’s designed for plant-based drugs.” Bryce Pardo, author interview, November 21, 2018.

233 “I know there’s still ecstasy out there, but we don’t see it near in the amount.” Dennis Wichern, author interview, June 9, 2016.

233 “They serve you in your car.” Paul Solotaroff, “El Chapo: Inside the Hunt for Mexico’s Most Notorious Kingpin,” Rolling Stone, August 11, 2017.

234 “The people that are dealing this are street gang members.” Jeremy Gorner, “More Than 30 Arrested in Sweep Targeting Fentanyl and Heroin Laced with Fentanyl,” Chicago Tribune, September 23, 2016.

234 “Chicago’s street gangs have likely been more inclined to involve themselves.” author interview, Sharon Lindskoog, August 16, 2018.

234 “The Chicago epidemic is affecting 45- to 65-year-old men.” Tanveer Ali and Sam Charles, “A 4-Block Radius on the West Side Is at the Heart of Chicago’s Opioid Epidemic,” Chicago Sun-Times, May 25, 2018.

235 “There’s nothing unique about how we work these.” James Jones, author interview, November 1, 2016.

236 “Everything that we do makes a dent.” Matt Masterson, “More Than 50 Charged after West Side Narcotics Raids,” News.WTWW.com, June 13, 2018.

236 “With the addition of fentanyl from China.” Evan Garcia, “Chicago’s Top DEA Official Retiring after 30 Years,” News.WTWW.com, December 20, 2017.

236 In 2017, Chicago EMS crews administered naloxone ninety-six hundred times. Chris Coffey and Katy Smyser, “Chicago-Area Paramedics Reviving Opioid Overdose Victims in Record Numbers,” NBCChicago.com, November 10, 2018.

237 “At HHS and across this administration.” Kimberly Leonard, “HHS Secretary Alex Azar Commits to Approaching Opioid Epidemic as a ‘Medical Challenge’ Rather Than Moral Failing,” Washington Examiner, March 1, 2018.

237 “These aren’t two distinct sets of people.” Julia Lurie (text), “Finding a Fix: Embedded with the Suburban Cops Confronting the Opioid Epidemic,” Mother Jones, January–February 2018 issue.

237 Criminal justice reform legislation. Osita Nwanevu, “The Improbable Success of a Criminal-Justice-Reform Bill under Trump,” New Yorker, December 17, 2018.

237 States … seek to impose tougher sentences on fentanyl dealers. Mike Hellgren, “New Initiative Targets Fentanyl Dealers with Harsher Punishments,” CBS Baltimore, December 12, 2018, https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2018/12/12/maryland-u-s-attorney-announces-new-initiative-to-get-fentanyl-off-the-streets/.

Twenty-Two

239 “Now is the first time in history.” Hamilton Morris, “Synthetic Drug Revolution: Vice on HBO,” Episode 5, YouTube video, 3:35, posted by Vice, April 10, 2015.

240 “When I have two grams of weed.” Ben Westhoff, “Small Town Police Are on the Hunt for Electric Forest Fans,” Westword, June 26, 2015.

241 “People trust us.” Ben Westhoff, “We’re Still a Long Way from Being Realistic about Drug Use at Festivals,” Westword, June 27, 2015.

241 “DanceSafe was actually participating at the festival as a nonprofit information booth.” Carrie Lombardi, author interview, June 26, 2015.

242 “Promoters feel their hands are tied due to the Rave Act.” Author interview, Emanuel Sferios, February 10, 2016.

242 “Fan safety is our highest priority.” Jennifer Forkish, author interview, August 14, 2014.

242 Project #OpenTalk. Stefanie Jones, “DPA and Insomniac Partner on a New Harm Reduction Effort: Project #OpenTalk,” DrugPolicyAlliance.org, October 26, 2016.

242 “While progress has been made.” Stefanie Jones, author interview, March 7, 2018.

243 “One was a young girl, and she looked really frightened.” Adam Auctor (pseudonym), author interview, April 11, 2016.

244 Formal study conducted by DanceSafe. Sarah Saleemi, Steven J. Pennybaker, Missi Wooldridge, and Matthew W. Johnson, “Who Is ‘Molly’? MDMA Adulterants by Product Name and the Impact of Harm-Reduction Services at Raves,” Journal of Psychopharmacology, July 10, 2017.

245 “I don’t recall the last time we seized pure MDMA.” Courtney Pero, author interview, April 29, 2016.

245 “People were dropping like flies.” Adam Auctor (pseudonym), author interview, September 17, 2018.

246 2017 study carried out at a supervised-injection site in Vancouver. Matt Meuse, “Insite Fentanyl Test Reduces Overdoses, Study Finds,” CBC News, May 15, 2017.

246 2018 study released by Brown University. Mollie Rappe, “Fentanyl Test Strips Prove Useful in Preventing Overdoses,” News.Brown.edu, October 18, 2018.

247 “Drug users are far more rational.” Zachary Siegel, “The Opioid Epidemic Is Changing Too Fast for Any Solutions to Stick,” The Cut, October 18, 2017.

247 “We cannot guarantee that the strips will always have 100 percent accuracy.” Elinore F. McCance-Katz, “For Beating the Opioid Crisis, America Has Better Weapons Than Fentanyl Test Strips,” Blog.SAMHSA.gov, October 3, 2018, https://blog.samhsa.gov/2018/10/03/for-beating-the-opioid-crisis-america-has-better-weapons-than-fentanyl-test-strips.

247 “We know that pill testing won’t work.” Olivia Willis, “Drug Experts Say Yes. Many Politicians Say No. What’s the Evidence for Pill Testing?” ABC.net.au, December 20, 2018.

Twenty-Three

249 Those engaged in drug manufacturing [in Slovenia] are still subject to incarceration. “Slovenia Country Drug Report 2018,” European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, n.d., http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/countries/drug-reports/2018/slovenia/drug-laws-and-drug-law-offences_en.

250 “That cost six times more than my car.” Adam Auctor (pseudonym), author interview, April 8, 2017.

251 Picej explained how he went from high school dropout. Julijan “Sidney” Picej, author interview, April 9, 2017.

252 “During the pig studies.” Expert Committee on Drug Dependence, “3-Methylmethcathinone (3-MMC) Critical Review Report,” World Health Organization report, November, 2016.

252 “I get addicted to everything.” Vlad (pseudonym), author interview, April 10, 2017.

253 “Ice cream” … can become habit forming. Dare Kochmur, author interview, April 11, 2017.

Twenty-Four

255 Russian harm-reduction organization, the Andrey Rylkov Foundation … ordered to pay a fine. Niko Vorobjov, “Russia Is Punishing People for Helping Drug Users,” Vice, December 11, 2018.

256 [Switzerland heroin-prescription program] led to drops in deaths, drug-dealing, and crime. Johann Hari, Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs (New York: Bloomsbury, 2015), 221.

256 Heroin use by people under forty has fallen dramatically [in the Netherlands]. Thijs Roes, “Only in the Netherlands Do Addicts Complain about Free Government Heroin,” Vice News, May 6, 2014.

256 Only after doctors were forced to stop [administering heroin]. Hari, Chasing the Scream, 38.

257 Energy Control’s … budget. Núria Calzada, author interview, July 31, 2017.

258 [Cristina Gil] is equally at home. Cristina Gil, author interview, April 14, 2017.

258 “As long as the overall purity and information is increasing, it’s a benefit.” Rafael Sacramento, author interview, April 14, 2017.

260 Pure-ecstasy supply has rebounded. Mike Power, “We Went Undercover in a Chinese MDMA Factory,” Mix Mag, May 29, 2018, https://mixmag.net/feature/we-went-undercover-in-a-chinese-mdma-factory.

260 “One of the reasons is that we have several drug-checking services around the country.” Mireia Ventura, author interview, February 22, 2017.

260 “If you overemphasize the negative effects, they don’t believe you.” Steve Mueller, author interview, April 10, 2017.

261 The relevant English authorities received the information too. “Superman Ecstasy Pills: Drugs Expert Says Government Failed to Act on Warning, Telegraph (UK), January 7, 2015.

262 “I’ve been to other festivals in Canada.” Ben Westhoff, “Can This Man Clean up EDM? ‘They Find All Kinds of Things in Those Pills,’” Guardian, April 19, 2017.

262 “I think a lot of kids are going to take drugs no matter what we say.” Ryan Raddon (aka Kaskade), author interview, March 27, 2017.

263 K2 menace … significantly reduced. Grace Raulston, author interview, April 28, 2016.

263 “The biggest thing we’re fighting now is education.” Courtney Pero, author interview, April 29, 2016.

Twenty-Five

264 BBC investigation into [opioids]. Owen Amos, “Why Opioids Are Such an American Problem,” BBC News, October 25, 2017.

264 “Making it harder for people to get pain medication legally.” Richard A. Friedman, “Ordering Five Million Deaths Online,” New York Times, April 4, 2018.

264 A flurry of new regulations … are going into effect. John W. Rusher, “Monitoring Programs, State Regulations Help Physicians Prescribe Opioids Responsibly,” AAP News, December 26, 2018.

265 In Colorado, some doctors require their patients to take special classes. Shelley Neth, author interview, June 5, 2018. An employee at the UC Health Family Medicine Center in Fort Collins, Colorado, confirmed the requirements described by Neth.

265 “I am uncomfortable with this approach.” Shelley Neth, author interview, June 5, 2018.

265 “All we’re doing is reviving them, we’re not curing them.” Corky Siemaszko, “Ohio Sheriff Says His Officers Won’t Carry Narcan,” NBCNews.com, July 7, 2017.

265 “I know it is not uncommon for users.” Brett Johnson, author interview, June 25, 2018.

266 “I would set up free drug-purity testing sites.” Todd Zwillich (host), “A Crisis of Ignorance: A Controversial View of the American Opioid Crisis,” Takeaway, WNYCStudios.org, November 6, 2017.

266 [Safe-injection sites] found to provide dramatic societal benefits. Jessica Williams, “Safe Injection Spaces Save Lives and Money, but Will They Make It in America?” IRETA, June 1, 2017, https://ireta.org/resources/safe-injection-spaces-save-lives-and-money-but-will-they-make-it-in-america/.

266 “In an undisclosed location in the US.” Maia Szalavitz, “There’s Been a Secret Safe Injection Site in the US for Three Years,” Tonic.Vice.com, August 10 2017.

266 A planned [Safe-injection site] in Philadelphia. Bobby Allyn, “Former Gov. Ed Rendell Says ‘Arrest Me First’ for Backing Supervised Injection Facility,” WHYY.org, October 2, 2018.

267 “Heroin is illegal. Will the police allow illegal drug use?” Lisa DuFour, “I Lost My Son to a Drug Overdose: Say No to Safe Injection Sites,” Seattle Times, March 17, 2017.

267 Some twelve thousand used syringes were collected. “La Nueva Sala Baluard Abrirá en Perecamps entre Primavera y Verano de 2017,” La Vanguardia, July 12, 2016.

269 “The target group here is problematic users.” Diego Arànega, author interview, April 13, 2017.

269 2017 study [on substitution therapy]. Madeline Morr, “Methadone Maintenance Treatment Reduces Mortality in Opioid-Dependent Patients,” ClinicalAdvisor.com, May 3, 2017.

270 HIV diagnoses “attributed to injecting” have plummeted in Spain. “Spain Country Drug Report 2018,” European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, n.d., http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/countries/drug-reports/2018/spain_en.

270 “The consumption room is the best tool I have.” Jann Schumacher, “The Swiss Four Pillar Drug Policy,” Just.ee, March 7, 2016.

271 “By moving people from the streets inside.” Dare Kochmur, author interview, April 11, 2017.

271 Officials in some states have marshaled resources. Lisa Gillespie, “Kentucky Will Soon Lead Nation in Syringe Exchanges, but Work Isn’t Done,” WFPL, April 11, 2018.

272 [Canadian government provided] supervised-injection sites with an exemption. Jace Larson and Scott Sherman, “Here’s What It’s Like in a Facility Where Drug Users Are Allowed to Shoot Up,” NBC 26, April 11, 2018.

272 Philadelphia…. had the highest opioid death rate of any major U.S. city. Kayla Dwyer, The Morning Call, “Former Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell says come ‘arrest me’ over this program,” February 7, 2019.

272 “They can come and arrest me first.” Allyn, “Former Gov. Ed Rendell Says ‘Arrest Me First.’”

Epilogue

273 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention attributed [life-expectancy drop] in part to fentanyl. Rachael Rettner, “US Life Expectancy Dropped in 2017. Drug Overdose Deaths Are a Big Reason Why,” Live Science, November 29, 2018.

273 Fentanyl driving down life expectancy in regions of Canada. Nicole Ireland, “Life Expectancy in Canada May Be Decreasing as Opioid Crisis Rages On,” CBC, October 23, 2018.

273 “It could be an indication.” Mario Moreno, author interview, November 16, 2018.

273 Rhode Island’s strategy. Erick Trickey, “How the Smallest State Is Defeating America’s Biggest Addiction Crisis,” Politico, August 25, 2018.

273 [Ohio] overdose death rate drop dramatically in some areas. Abby Goodnough, “This City’s Overdose Deaths Have Plunged. Can Others Learn From It?” New York Times, November 25, 2018.

274 “Data indicates that women run a higher risk of drug craving.” Ashley Welch, “Drug Overdose Deaths Skyrocket among Middle-Aged Women,” CBS News, January 10, 2019.

274 “There’s money for in-patient stabilization.” Jaye Shyken, author interview, June 6, 2017.

274 Studies have given medication-assisted treatment credit for reducing overdose deaths. National Institutes of Health, “Methadone and Buprenorphine Reduce Risk of Death after Opioid Overdose,” news release, June 19, 2018.

275 [Buprenorphine] had traditionally been difficult for doctors to prescribe. Susan Svrluga, “The Drug Suboxone Could Combat the Heroin Epidemic. So Why Is It So Hard to Get?” Washington Post, January 13, 2015.

275 Some treatment providers … stress the importance of abstinence-based recovery. James Legge, “Drug Addicts Need a Clean Break,” Guardian, June 5, 2012.

275 Hazelden … in 2012 began providing medication-assisted treatment. Martin D. Seppala, Integrating the Twelve Steps with Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder (Center City, MN: Hazeldon Publishing, 2012), https://www.hazelden.org/OA_HTML/item/376138?Integrating-the-Twelve-Steps-with-Medication-Assisted-Treatment-for-Opioid-Use-Disorder-Set-of-3&.src_url=itemquest.

275 Spiritual approach … has been recognized in academic literature. Marc Galanter, Helen Dermatis, Gregory Bunt, Caroline Williams, Manuel Trujillo, and Paul Steinke, “Assessment of Spirituality and Its Relevance to Addiction Treatment,” Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, June 16, 2006.

276 “We have this whole infrastructure set up.” Christine Vestal, “These Pills Could Be Next U.S. Drug Epidemic, Public Health Officials Say,” Pew: Stateline, July 18, 2018, https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2018/07/18/these-pills-could-be-next-us-drug-epidemic-public-health-officials-say.

277 “Bailey’s death shocked us to our core.” Michael R. Brown, author interview, June 27, 2018.

278 “We know addiction is a disease.” “Grand Forks Call to Action” and “Call to Action” video, GrandForks.gov, May 25, 2017, http://www.grandforksgov.com/government/city-leadership/mayor-s-office/call-to-action.

278 “There’s been a lot of new thoughts on how we treat addiction.” Michael Dulitz, author interview, June 22, 2018.

278 “It’s not just your stereotypical drug user.” Brett Johnson, author interview, June 25, 2018.

279 Tanner Gerszewski … at the very moment Henke was overdosing. Tanner Gerszewski, author interview, June 27, 2018.