We speak with BBC Arabic correspondent Rasha Qandeel, whose new documentary investigates Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s role in producing the highly addictive amphetamine known as Captagon and how this is impacting his relations with other states in the region. “This is going to be a main factor in a lot of changes in the Middle East,” says Qandeel, who notes that curbing the drug trade has already played a role in recent moves by Arab states to normalize relations with Syria.

This post was originally published on Democracy Now!.