# Inside Chicago’s fight against synthetic drugs sweeping the US

https://mins.news/en/item/105449

- BBC News, 2026-10-18 21:00 UTC
- Society
- Original: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/c84g166kz003o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

> A new wave of synthetic drugs is spreading across the United States, prompting fears that the drug crisis could worsen. Overdose deaths fell from a peak of about 110,000 in 2022 to roughly 70,000 last year, but authorities are increasingly worried that cheap, potent synthetics such as the animal tranquilliser tranq may accelerate the decades-long crisis. Quentin Sommerville reports from Chicago’s South Side.

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- [America’s synthetic drug crisis](https://mins.news/en/video/105472) — BBC News, 2026-10-18