photo #8637596

A political cartoon from the Opium Wars in China in the mid-19th century. Imperial European powers, including Britain and France, were accused of creating widespread addiction by forcing opium into Chinese society. It sparked two conflicts called the Opium Wars in which the Qing Dynasty was easily beaten and led to a 100-year period known in China as the "century of humiliation." (PictHistory/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) "China is the lead nation for the production of precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl and the Chinese chemical industry is the most unregulated industry in all of China."