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Fentanyl is destroying America [1]
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Date: 2022-11-10
Forget everything you see on TV or read in the news. America’s greatest threat is not politics on the left or right. It’s not White Supremacy, anti-Semitism, Black Lives Matter, the availability of automatic weapons, rampant crime, China, Donald Trump or Joe Biden.
Fentanyl is the greatest threat facing America today.
An Alabama high school student died this week and four others were hospitalized after what investigators are saying could be due to their exposure to a substance laced with Fentanyl. In 2021, 71,000 people died from fentanyl or from fentanyl-related substances. That is two-thirds of all drug overdoses that year. Illicit fentanyl overdoses are now the number one cause of death among adults aged 18-45, according to one report last year. In comparison, approximately 53,000 people in the same age range died from Covid-19 during the same time period.
But while authorities took the Covid-19 threats seriously, as they should, fentanyl deaths are mostly ignored even as the problem deepens.
There are a number of reasons fentanyl is such a danger. It can be produced more cheaply than heroin as it is made from lab ingredients. It is also made from chemicals acquired from abroad- mainly China - and these are not regulated. Anything can be in that drug mix. Fentanyl is also easily smuggled across the border from Mexico and easily purchased through online platformssuch as Instagram, Telegram, and Snapchat.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also highlights the widespread problem of fatal drug overdoses, noting that law enforcement encounters with fentanyl-related drugs has increased dramatically in recent years in a growing number of states across the US.
According to the CDC, “most of the increased in fentanyl deaths over the past three years do not involve prescription fentanyl but are related to illicitly-made fentanyl that is being mixed with or sold as heroin - with or without the users’ knowledge - and increasing as counterfeit pills.”
According to the Committee on Energy and Commerce (E&C) in the US House of Representatives, Morgan Griffith (R-VA) and Bob Latta (R-OH) introduced the HALT Fentanyl Act which would make an emergency class-wide order for fentanyl-related substances permanent and give law enforcement personnel the tools they need to crack down on dealers and help keep the dangerous drug off the streets.
The E&C is calling for cooperation from both sides of the aisle on this non-partisan issue and is also demanding that Big Tech companies actively work to prevent criminals and drug dealers from using their platforms to buy and sell fentanyl. This dangerous and lethal drug is killing America’s youth. According to the DEA, fentanyl “is the single deadliest drug our nation has ever encountered.” And according to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics (NCDAS), drug overdose deaths are up 30% year-over-year with opioids responsible for 7 out of every 10 overdose deaths. Opioids kill three times as many people than cocaine, with an average of 136 Americans dying each day. Since 1999, drug overdoses have killed almost one million people. It is important to note that overdose deaths can be misleading. Just as drug-related deaths are not always recorded as such, some recorded overdoses could involve other substances or causes as well.
DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said, “Fentanyl is everywhere. From large metropolitan areas to rural America, no community is safe from this poison. We must take every opportunity to spread the word to prevent fentanyl-related overdose death and poisonings from claiming scores of American lives every day.”
Milgram also notes that drug traffickers are increasingly mixing Fentanyl with other types of drugs in powder and pill form “in an effort to drive addiction and attract repeat buyers.”
Fentanyl is particularly dangerous, not only because of unknown substances contained within, but also because it is extraordinarily lethal in small amounts. Only two milligrams of fentanyl is considered a potentially lethal does, according to the DEA. Fentanyl is highly dangerous for users who are new to opioids or do not have a developed tolerance to opioids.
What is clear from all of the above is that America faces a fentanyl epidemic - far more lethal than the Covid-19 pandemic. There are a number of ways America can combat this problem on the local, state, and federal levels. It is important to monitor trends and build data in order to better understand the danger. Organizations involved in combating this phenomenon can partner with local law enforcement agencies to help keep these drugs off the streets. Likewise, federal officials must work with Big Tech companies to keep these drugs off the internet to reduce their ease of purchase.
Schools and educators must tackle this phenomenon head-on as well. This is a war, America’s youth are dying, and educators are on the front lines. For this reason, they must be part of the solution. From classroom discussions to hands-on activities and perhaps even visits to graveyards, schools can relay a strong message to students and educate them about the dangers of drugs.
The federal government must work harder to stem the flow of drugs smuggled across the southern border and must work together with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authorities to combat the problem and step up arrests and drug seizures.Judicial steps must be taken that are directly related to federal and ICE activities. Swift and strict sentencing and imprisonment must be implemented to discourage drug dealers and drug mules from engaging in the buying, selling or transport of drugs. The drug is serious, the crime is serious and so should the consequences.
Willpower is essential. The federal government, community organizations, local governments, schools, and law enforcement must work together to fight the war on drugs. With determination and persistence, America can save its own citizens from the greatest threat facing it today.
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