From opium and morphine to heroin, OxyContin and fentanyl, the history of opioids reveals a recurring pattern: powerful painkillers are introduced as safe medical breakthroughs, only for addiction and public health crises to follow.

This video traces how opioids shaped major historical events, fueled the US opioid epidemic, and continue to cause harm worldwide. It examines the role of pharmaceutical marketing, synthetic opioids and rising addiction rates, while asking whether lessons from the past are still being ignored.

For more content on the topic of drugs, follow this link