Edifying and terrifying, the series devoted by Julie Gacon and her team to the multiple forms of drug addiction. Episode 1: Off to the United States and the nightmare of what has been called the “opioid crisis” (or opiates). Since the 1990s, 500,000 Americans have died, including more than 100,000 in 2021 alone. A crisis that has worsened since Covid-19.

Bertrand Leibovici, addictologist doctor, recalls the appearance of morphine in the 19th century and its use during the Civil War then the European wars, then the arrival of fentanyl, an opiate synthesized in 1959, used in anesthesia, prescribed as a powerful analgesic before to be largely diverted from its primary use. On the street, they call him the “Murder 8”, the “China White”, the “Apache”, he dethroned heroin. Fifty to a hundred times more potent and lethal than morphine, fentanyl killed rocker Prince in 2016 and thousands of Americans (one person every seven minutes on average in 2022). It is now the leading cause of death for 18-49 year olds.

In 1995, OxyContin was marketed by the Purdue Pharma laboratory, founded by the Sackler brothers, who did not hesitate to aggressively promote this extremely addictive and euphoric painkiller, as shown by Dopesick, the American miniseries created by Danny Strong ( on Disney, in France). All the more dangerous, too, that we can have access to these drugs, often trafficked, on social networks, which further complicates the risk – for young people in particular.

Reinforce repression

“Everything, everywhere, everyone. This, in a nutshell (episode 2), is the observation made by the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction in its latest annual report published in June 2022 on consumption in Europe. In other words: a greater diversity of products consumed, in all territories and by all social classes. While cannabis remains by far the most common drug (7% of 15-64 year olds, or 22.2 million people), cocaine comes in second place with 3.5 million followers on the continent.

Based on the observation that the war on drugs has failed to reduce consumption, many countries have rethought their policy. We can immediately remember that the results are satisfactory when the public policy and the ad hoc budget are up to the challenge. Let’s also say that France has chosen to multiply arrests (by forty since the 1970s) and to strengthen repression.

However, as historian Jean-Pierre Filiu insists in episode 3, “the tougher the repression, the tougher the drugs”. His analysis of drug use, particularly in Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iran, is fascinating. For her part, Elena Qleibo, coordinator at the NGO Solidarités international and associate researcher at the Institut français du Proche-Orient, notes: “Addiction to Tramadol is one taboo among many in the gaziote society [of the Gaza Strip], as in any patriarchal society. [Hamas] tries to make the phenomenon invisible, but it is impossible. Tramadol is an analgesic, it is very useful to live without hope. »