Prologue
EPISODE 0
How one overdose death led to the takedown of a major online fentanyl dealer and became a window into the global drug trade.
A small-town fisherman becomes a dark web fentanyl dealer after an accident leads him down the path to addiction.
Down the Rabbit Hole
EPISODE 1
EPISODE 3
EPISODE 4
EPISODE 5
EPISODE 6
EPISODE 7
As front-line workers pick up the bodies of overdose victims in San Francisco, harm reductionists and doctors look for ways to save lives.
A Way Out
EPISODE 8
Watch behind-the-scenes video from our reporting and read more about the drug trade on VICE News.
Go Deeper
PAINKILLER
After a North Dakota teen dies from a fentanyl overdose, federal agents track down the man who supplied the lethal dose and crack his international network.
That Would Be Murder
EPISODE 2
A Chinese businessman who advertises fentanyl for sale online agrees to a meeting in Shanghai, but our reporting reveals that on the internet things aren’t always as they seem.
I Know What You Want
Sinaloa cartel members show the inner-workings of their fentanyl trafficking network, which involves smuggling illicit precursor chemicals into Mexico by boat, then mixing fentanyl with heroin at a clandestine drug lab.
The Gringos Like It Strong
Activists from the Black Panthers and Young Lords create a revolutionary model for addiction treatment after taking over a hospital during an opioid epidemic in the South Bronx in 1970.
Defy the System
The Standing Rock Sioux tribe fights back against America’s largest opioid distributor, joining an epic legal battle against a company accused of reaping billions of dollars in profits while spreading addiction on the reservation and across the U.S.
This Isn’t a Game
A chronic pain patient who relies on fentanyl finds himself on the verge of suicide after the DEA arrests his doctor during a nationwide crackdown.
The Happiest Thing Ever
If you’re struggling with drug misuse and want to get help, call SAMHSA’s National Helpline – 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or visit FindTreatment.gov
© 2020 VICE MEDIA LLC
Caption: September 23, 2019, in a homeless encampment in Oakland, CA
VICE News reporter Keegan Hamilton travels to Mexico, China and across the U.S. to investigate how fentanyl sparked the deadly third wave of America’s opioid crisis.
Background Reading
• The Centers for Disease Control on understanding and combating the opioid epidemic. • In 2016, VICE News reporter and “Painkiller” host Keegan Hamilton wrote that America’s new deadliest drug is fentanyl. • VICE News correspondent Dexter Thomas looked at how carfentanil caused a spate of overdoses in Ohio in 2016.
• VICE News’ Maia Szalavitz fact-checked sensationalized fentanyl headlines and reported you can’t overdose on fentanyl by touching it. If you’re struggling with drug misuse and want to get help, call SAMHSA’s National Helpline – 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or visit FindTreatment.gov
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The powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl causes more fatal overdoses than any other drug. It’s also a medical miracle. VICE News reporter @KeeganHamilton travels to Mexico, China and across the US to investigate how fentanyl sparked the deadly third wave of America’s opioid crisis. Listen to the trailer for Painkiller our new podcast with @SpotifyPodcasts.
BACK
• The Centers for Disease Control on understanding and combating the opioid epidemic. • In 2016, VICE News reporter and “Painkiller” host Keegan Hamilton wrote that America’s new deadliest drug is fentanyl. • VICE News correspondent Dexter Thomas looked at how carfentanil caused a spate of overdoses in Ohio in 2016. • VICE News’ Maia Szalavitz fact-checked sensationalized fentanyl headlines and reported you can’t overdose on fentanyl by touching it. If you’re struggling with drug misuse and want to get help, call SAMHSA’s National Helpline – 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or visit FindTreatment.gov
A customer review of PDXBlack’s heroin, image captured on June 10, 2020
Brandon Hubbard’s first Silk Road post advertising heroin using his PDXBlack pseudonym. Image captured on June 10, 2020
Channing Lacey's 2015 mugshot | Credit: Multnomah County Sheriff's Office
The papermill in Camas, WA, where Brandon Hubbard and his family worked photographed on May 12, 2005 Credit: Associated Press
Brandon Hubbard’s 2016 mugshot | Credit: Cass County Jail via Associated Press
Brandon Hubbard at the Grand Forks County Jail in November 2019. | Credit: Keegan Hamilton
• On Monday, August 28, 2017, Channing Lacey was sentenced to over 11 years in federal prison for distributing fentanyl inside the Multnomah County Jail. • On October 1, 2019, a Colombian man pleaded guilty to running a fentanyl trafficking operation while incarcerated in Quebec, Canada. He supplied Brandon Hubbard. • Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein announced the first-ever U.S. indictments of Chinese nationals for fentanyl trafficking in 2017.
• Brandon Hubbard posted his first advertisement as a new heroin vendor on the anonymous drug marketplace the Silk Road, under the account handle PDXBlack. • A Silk Road customer reviewed PDXBlack, praising Brandon for “great service, low prices, and whatever brand you want with fast shipping.” • A local news story in 2016 covered Brandon Hubbard’s guilty plea for selling fentanyl that caused overdose deaths in Grand Forks, North Dakota. If you’re struggling with drug misuse and want to get help, call SAMHSA’s National Helpline – 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or visit FindTreatment.gov
A customer review of PDXBlack’s heroin, image captured on June 10, 2020.
Brandon Hubbard’s first Silk Road post advertising heroin using his PDXBlack pseudonym. Image captured on June 10, 2020.
Channing Lacey’s 2015 mugshot | Credit: March 6, 2015
• On Monday, August 28, 2017, Channing Lacey was sentenced to over 11 years in federal prison for distributing fentanyl inside the Multnomah County Jail. • On October 1, 2019, a Colombian man pleaded guilty to running a fentanyl trafficking operation while incarcerated in Quebec, Canada. He supplied Brandon Hubbard. • Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein announced the first-ever U.S. indictments of Chinese nationals for fentanyl trafficking in 2017. • Brandon Hubbard posted his first advertisement as a new heroin vendor on the anonymous drug marketplace the Silk Road, under the account handle PDXBlack. • A Silk Road customer reviewed PDXBlack, praising Brandon for “great service, low prices, and whatever brand you want with fast shipping.” • A local news story in 2016 covered Brandon Hubbard’s guilty plea for selling fentanyl that caused overdose deaths in Grand Forks, North Dakota. If you’re struggling with drug misuse and want to get help, call SAMHSA’s National Helpline – 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or visit FindTreatment.gov
Former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein on October 17, 2017 announcing the indictment of the Chinese chemical manufacturers who made the fentanyl that killed Bailey Henke | Credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images
A police report from January 3, 2015 on the death of Bailey Henke.
Kain Schwandt at his home in Grand Forks, ND on November 19, 2019. | Credit: Keegan Hamilton.
On November 19, 2019, Laura and Jade Henke show a picture of Bailey Henke on his laptop | Credit: Keegan Hamilton
Bailey Henke in 2014.
The organization of alleged fentanyl trafficker Jian Zhang. | Credit: U.S. Treasury Department.
• The New York Times Magazine reported on the case of Bailey Henke, and how one DEA agent cracked a global fentanyl ring. • A Silk Road customer left Brandon a negative review, claiming “PDXBlack scammed me...Many weeks of him asking for my address again and again and never sending the product… What a dick.” • DHS/ICE report on their investigation, Operation Denial, linking Bailey Henke’s overdose to fentanyl vendor PDXBlack.
• Keegan Hamilton reported in 2017 on prosecutors handling opioid overdoses like murders. • The New York Times reported in 2018 on how “drug-induced homicide” is used to target family members and friends of overdose victims. If you’re struggling with drug misuse and want to get help, call SAMHSA’s National Helpline – 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or visit FindTreatment.gov
Kain Schwandt at his home in Grand Forks, ND on November 19, 2019. | Credit: Keegan Hamilton, November 19, 1982
• The New York Times Magazine reported on the case of Bailey Henke, and how one DEA agent cracked a global fentanyl ring. • A Silk Road customer left Brandon a negative review, claiming “PDXBlack scammed me...Many weeks of him asking for my address again and again and never sending the product… What a dick.” • DHS/ICE report on their investigation, Operation Denial, linking Bailey Henke’s overdose to fentanyl vendor PDXBlack. • Keegan Hamilton reported in 2017 on prosecutors handling opioid overdoses like murders. • The New York Times reported in 2018 on how “drug-induced homicide” is used to target family members and friends of overdose victims. If you’re struggling with drug misuse and want to get help, call SAMHSA’s National Helpline – 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or visit FindTreatment.gov
That Would Be a Murder
US Customs and Border Protection agents inspecting international mail at JFK airport in 2017. Credit: VICE News
Gel caps for sale at a pharmaceutical conference in Nanchang, China, October 10, 2019. | Credit: Keegan Hamilton
Nanchang, China | Credit: Keegan Hamilton
Inside an abandoned chemical factory in Wuhan, China, in October 2019. | Credit: Keegan Hamilton.
• Keegan Hamilton reported that during the coronavirus outbreak, Chinese drug traffickers are selling knockoff N95 masks. • A 2017 VICE News Tonight report detailed how illicit fentanyl makes its way from China to the U.S. • VICE News reporter Alex Lubben reported on China sentencing fentanyl dealers to life in prison in 2019.
• U.S. author Ben Westhoff infiltrated a fentanyl lab in Shanghai to investigate China’s role in the opioid crisis. • In a 2017 exclusive VICE News interview with Chinese law enforcement officials, they explained why China won’t arrest traffickers accused of shipping fentanyl into the US. If you’re struggling with drug misuse and want to get help, call SAMHSA’s National Helpline – 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or visit FindTreatment.gov
• Keegan Hamilton reported that during the coronavirus outbreak, Chinese drug traffickers are selling knockoff N95 masks. • A 2017 VICE News Tonight report detailed how illicit fentanyl makes its way from China to the U.S. • VICE News reporter Alex Lubben reported on China sentencing fentanyl dealers to life in prison in 2019. • U.S. author Ben Westhoff infiltrated a fentanyl lab in Shanghai to investigate China’s role in the opioid crisis. • In a 2017 exclusive VICE News interview with Chinese law enforcement officials, they explained why China won’t arrest traffickers accused of shipping fentanyl into the US. If you’re struggling with drug misuse and want to get help, call SAMHSA’s National Helpline – 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or visit FindTreatment.gov
Counterfeit prescription pills laced with fentanyl captured in Phoenix on November 13, 2019 | Credit: Keegan Hamilton
DEA agent Dave Horst in Phoenix, Arizona on November 13, 2019 | Credit: Keegan Hamilton
Cartel members break up a block of fentanyl laced heroin on July 7, 2019 | Credit: Miguel Fernández-Flores
Sinaloa Cartel members cook heroin laced with fentanyl on July 7, 2019 | Credit: Miguel Fernández-Flores
The rural outskirts of Culiacan, Mexico on July 7, 2019 | Credit: Miguel Fernández-Flores
Sinaloa Cartel members smuggle fentanyl precursor chemicals into Mexico on July 5, 2019. | Credit: Miguel Fernández-Flores
Cartel gunmen stand guard at a safehouse in Culiacán, Sinaloa in July 2019. | Credit: Miguel Fernández-Flores
• Keegan Hamilton interviewed Sinaloa Cartel members on why coronavirus is bad for the illicit fentanyl business. • Keegan Hamilton described why more fentanyl is entering the U.S. through the southern border than the post office. • Keegan Hamilton wrote about how little changed in the war on drugs following the 2019 conviction of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. • Listen to Chapo: Kingpin on Trial, a podcast from the makers of Painkiller.
• A VICE News video documented the rise of black tar heroin in Mexico. • VICE News reported about the deaths of Prince and Tom Petty, who died by ingesting counterfeit painkillers containing fentanyl. If you’re struggling with drug misuse and want to get help, call SAMHSA’s National Helpline – 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or visit FindTreatment.gov
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Counterfeit prescription pills laced with fentanyl captured in Phoenix on November 13, 2019 Credit: Keegan Hamilton
Cartel members break up a block of fentanyl laced heroin on July 7, 2019 Credit: Miguel Fernández-Flores
Sinaloa Cartel members cook heroin laced with fentanyl on July 7, 2019 Credit: Miguel Fernández-Flores
• Keegan Hamilton interviewed Sinaloa Cartel members on why coronavirus is bad for the illicit fentanyl business. • Keegan Hamilton described why more fentanyl is entering the U.S. through the southern border than the post office. • Keegan Hamilton wrote about how little changed in the war on drugs following the 2019 conviction of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. • Listen to Chapo: Kingpin on Trial, a podcast from the makers of Painkiller. • A VICE News video documented the rise of black tar heroin in Mexico. • VICE News reported about the deaths of Prince and Tom Petty, who died by ingesting counterfeit painkillers containing fentanyl. If you’re struggling with drug misuse and want to get help, call SAMHSA’s National Helpline – 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or visit FindTreatment.gov
Dr John Bonica on February 28, 1979 | Credit: Barry Sweet via Associated Press
A wrestling flyer from 1952 advertising Dr John Bonica’s alter ego, The Masked Marvel Credit: Marc Blau / Shanaman Sports Museum
Tim, a chronic pain patient, receiving treatment at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle on November 8, 2019. Credit: Keegan Hamilton
Bayer advertisement for heroin from 1901.
Members of P.A.I.N. (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now) and Truth Pharm staged a protest on September 12, 2019 outside Purdue Pharma headquarters in Stamford, CT | Credit: Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images
The Happiest Thing Over
• The U.S. Department of Justice charged Dr. Thomas Sachy and his staff with unlawfully prescribing opioids in 2018. • The trial for Dr. Thomas H. Sachy is scheduled to begin Aug. 10 in Georgia. • A 1998 Purdue Pharmaceutical advertisement claimed the opioids they sold were safe and nonaddictive. • Keegan Hamilton explained in 2018 how fentanyl overdoses spiked following a crackdown on prescription painkillers.
• VICE News reporter Tess Owen reported in 2016 that major pharmaceutical companies spent nearly $900 million over a decade to fight legal limits on opioids. • In 2017, Keegan Hamilton investigated how a crackdown on prescription painkillers affects pain patients. • Radiolab’s Latif Nasser gave a TED Talk about John Bonica, the founder of modern pain relief. If you’re struggling with drug misuse and want to get help, call SAMHSA’s National Helpline – 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or visit FindTreatment.gov
A wrestling flyer from TK YEAR advertising Dr John Bonica’s alter ego, The Masked Marvel Credit: Marc Blau / Shanaman Sports Museum"
A Bayer advertisement for heroin from 1901.
• The U.S. Department of Justice charged Dr. Thomas Sachy and his staff with unlawfully prescribing opioids in 2018. • The trial for Dr. Thomas H. Sachy is scheduled to begin Aug. 10 in Georgia. • A 1998 Purdue Pharmaceutical advertisement claimed the opioids they sold were safe and nonaddictive. • Keegan Hamilton explained in 2018 how fentanyl overdoses spiked following a crackdown on prescription painkillers. • VICE News reporter Tess Owen reported in 2016 that major pharmaceutical companies spent nearly $900 million over a decade to fight legal limits on opioids. • In 2017, Keegan Hamilton investigated how a crackdown on prescription painkillers affects pain patients. • Radiolab’s Latif Nasser gave a TED Talk about John Bonica, the founder of modern pain relief. If you’re struggling with drug misuse and want to get help, call SAMHSA’s National Helpline – 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or visit FindTreatment.gov
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The pharmaceutical company Insys produced a rap video about selling fentanyl. Video captured June 13, 2020 | Credit: YouTube
The Standing Rock Sioux Reservation on August 30, 2017 | Credit Evan Frost / Minnesota Public Radio via Associated Press
A coloring book from the Standing Rock Elementary school on November 21, 2019 Credit: Keegan Hamilton
Darlene Martinez Chasing Hawk on the Standing Rock Sioux reservation in North Dakota on November 21, 2019 Credit: Keegan Hamilton
• The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors. • A rap video produced by Insys Therapeutics bragged about company salespeople persuading doctors to sell their legal fentanyl product. • In 2019, VICE News reporter Alex Lubben wrote about the shady, and often illegal, business practices by opioid manufacturer Insys Therapeutics that put its CEO in prison. • Keegan Hamilton wrote in 2017 about groundbreaking new treatment options for pregnant women who struggle with addiction and their opioid-dependant babies. • A VICE News Tonight report from 2019 documented the challenge for pregnant women who use opioids to stay sober prior to and after birth. • VICE News Tonight covered how COVID-19 has ravaged the Navajo Nation. If you’re struggling with drug addiction and want to get help, call SAMHSA’s National Helpline – 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or visit FindTreatment.gov
Darlene Martinez Chasing Hawk at her home on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in November 2019. Credit: Keegan Hamilton
• The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors. • A rap video produced by Insys Therapeutics bragged about company salespeople persuading doctors to sell their legal fentanyl product. • In 2019, VICE News reporter Alex Lubben wrote about the shady and often illegal, business practices by opioid manufacturer Insys Therapeutics that put its CEO in prison. • Keegan Hamilton wrote in 2017 about groundbreaking new treatment options for pregnant women who struggle with addiction and their opioid-dependant babies.
• A VICE News Tonight report from 2019 documented the challenge for pregnant women who use opioids to stay sober prior to and after birth. • VICE News Tonight covered how COVID-19 has ravaged the Navajo Nation. If you’re struggling with drug addiction and want to get help, call SAMHSA’s National Helpline – 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or visit FindTreatment.gov
Two New York City police cars, with winter chains on their wheels, drive around the snowy streets of the SoHo neighborhood after a blizzard, New York, New York, 1970s. Credit:Allan Tannenbaum / Getty Images
A Young Lords Party protest in front of Lincoln Hospital on September 3, 1970. Credit: Meyer Liebowitz/New York Times Co./Getty Images
The Black Panthers demonstrate outside of a New York City courthouse on April 11, 1969. | Credit: David Fenton/Getty Images
Panama Alba on October 21, 2012 | Credit: William Orellana
Members of the Puerto Rican activist group the Young Lords gather near the chest X-ray unit they seized in East Harlem, New York City. | Credit: Meyer Liebowitz/New York Times Co./Getty Images
• The New York Times covered the 1970 Lincoln Hospital Takeover. • Filter Mag detailed how the Young Lords took Lincoln Hospital and left a legacy for health activism.
• WNYC reported on Lincoln Hospital in the 1970s and how failed infrastructure at the hospital led to the revolutionary takeover. If you’re struggling with drug misuse and want to get help, call SAMHSA’s National Helpline – 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or visit FindTreatment.gov
The Black Panthers demonstrate outside of a New York City courthouse on April 11, 1969. Credit: David Fenton/Getty Images
Panama Alba on October 21, 2012. Credit: William Orellana
• The New York Times covered the 1970 Lincoln Hospital Takeover. • Filter Mag detailed how the Young Lords took Lincoln Hospital and left a legacy for health activism. • WNYC reported on Lincoln Hospital in the 1970s and how failed infrastructure at the hospital led to the revolutionary takeover. • If you’re struggling with drug addiction and want to get help, call SAMHSA’s National Helpline – 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or visit FindTreatment.gov
Leslie Nuñez and Rob Lindsey distribute supplies to drug users in West Oakland on September 13, 2019 Credit: Keegan Hamilton
Denise Lopez passes out free clothing at a HEPPAC event in West Oakland on September 13, 2019. Credit: Keegan Hamilton
Danny Kcomt and Hayoung Oh pass out clean needles and Narcan to homeless opioid users the Bay Area on September 23, 2019. Credit: Keegan Hamilton
On September 23, 2019, in a homeless encampment in Oakland, Scott shoots up a user with heroin . Credit: Keegan Hamilton
Trish Bubnis, an investigator with the San Francisco Medical Examiner's Office, collects the body of a drug overdose victim in November 2019. | Credit: Keegan Hamilton
• Keegan Hamilton explained in 2019 how the overdose crisis got worse because of fentanyl and other drugs. • Maia Szalavitz reported in 2017 on how easy it is to actually produce fentanyl and asked why fentanyl dealers are willing to sell something that kills their customer base.
• Maia Szalavitz wrote in 2017 that fentanyl test strips could potentially save many American lives, if only the country embraced harm reduction. If you’re struggling with drug misuse and want to get help, call SAMHSA’s National Helpline – 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or visit FindTreatment.gov
Leslie Nuñez and Rob Lindsey distribute supplies to drug users in West Oakland on September 13, 2019. Credit: Keegan Hamilton
On September 23, 2019, in a homeless encampment in Oakland, Scott shoots up a user with heroin. Credit: Keegan Hamilton
• Keegan Hamilton explained in 2019 how the overdose crisis got worse because of fentanyl and other drugs. • Maia Szalavitz reported in 2017 on how easy it is to actually produce fentanyl and asked why fentanyl dealers are willing to sell something that kills their customer base. • Maia Szalavitz wrote in 2017 that fentanyl test strips could potentially save many American lives, if only the country embraced harm reduction. • If you’re struggling with drug addiction and want to get help, call SAMHSA’s National Helpline – 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or visit FindTreatment.gov
The Centers for Disease Control report on understanding and combating the opioid epidemic.
The case against a major online fentanyl dealer, and how an overdose in North Dakota became a window into the global fentanyl trade.
• The Centers for Disease Control report on understanding and combating the opioid epidemic. • As far back as 2016, VICE News reporter and Painkiller host Keegan Hamilton was documenting the mass overdoses across the country and reporting that America’s new deadliest drug is Fentanyl.
• VICE News correspondent Dexter Thomas looks at the growing risks of synthetic opioids by visiting an Ohio county that in 2016, experienced an average of 20 to 25 overdoses a day. • VICE News’ Maia Szalavitz fact-checks sensationalized headlines on Fentanyl in 2018 and reports you can’t overdose on fentanyl by touching it.
