Watch live: House panel holds hearing on the fentanyl crisis

The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance on Wednesday is holding a hearing on the fentanyl crisis in the U.S.

Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, is considered

Fentanyl can be manufactured legally for legitimate medical use. But, as USA Today reports, most illegally used fentanyl in the United States is smuggled into the country from Mexico, following a route that begins with precursor chemicals from China brought to Mexican cartels’ large volume manufacturers.

Part of what makes fentanyl such a pervasive health threat is that users often take it unwittingly because it’s used to cut other drugs like oxycontin for street sale. The user has no idea of the dosage of a drug they don’t even know they’re taking, sometimes leading to deadly poisoning.

Fentanyl use, intentional or otherwise, has been soaring in the U.S. in recent years. This House hearing follows another on the subject by the House Commerce Health Subcommittee Feb. 1, as well as a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing Feb. 15.

Today’s hearing begins at 9 a.m. ET.

Watch the live video above.