{
  "id": 15356133,
  "title": "A wave of homemade, synthetic drugs sweeps US and deepens crisis",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/18/a-wave-of-homemade-synthetic-drugs-sweeps-us-and-deepens-crisis-15356133",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-18T05:04:31.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "BBC News",
    "slug": "bbc-news",
    "url": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cmx2wvyv5j17o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The United States is experiencing an escalating crisis with homemade, synthetic drugs flooding the market. Mike, a 48-year-old army veteran, smokes a drug from an alley in Columbus, Ohio, describing its potent effects. Fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, is often mixed with other substances like synthetic tranquillisers, making overdose recovery more challenging. Naloxone, a nasal spray that reverses opioid overdoses, has proven effective but may not work when combined with certain synthetic drugs. In Columbus, 78% of fatal overdoses involve stimulants. Recovery groups, such as the Hope Dealers Community, gather weekly to share their harrowing experiences. In Illinois, a dealer admits to selling fentanyl mixed with other drugs in a market driven by cartels, causing a rise in overdose deaths.",
  "summary": "BBC News hears from users, dealers, prison and recovery workers as the country battles with a deadly new drug epidemic.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "BBC World",
        "title": "A wave of homemade, synthetic drugs sweeps US and deepens crisis",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/18/a-wave-of-homemade-synthetic-drugs-sweeps-us-and-deepens-crisis",
        "published": "2026-10-18T05:04:31.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}