Synthetic drug '50 times more potent than heroin' – why fentanyl figured in Biden-Xi meet

In America, there's been a controversy that opioids are being over-prescribed — especially to rich patients carrying comprehensive insurance which pays for it — by doctors who are in cahoots with the pharmaceutical industry that makes these opioids. Opioids are used in prescribed pharmaceuticals like morphine, tranquillisers but the stronger ones are mostly used for pain control. Xi Jinping and Joe Biden had their much-awaited summit in San Francisco. There were three main items on the agenda: restoring diplomatic and military communication, cooperation on the subject of climate change, and the fentanyl crisis. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid. The larger…