Fentanyl

As 2022 comes to a close, the United States finds itself confronting myriad threats. But there is perhaps no more immediate threat to Americans’ safety and security than illicit drugs. The numbers are staggering. Illicit drugs have killed more than 1 million Americans since the turn of the century, with over 108,000 dying in last 12 months alone. One drug in particular, fentanyl, is now the leading cause of accidental death for adults between the ages of 18 and 45 — more than car accidents, violent crime, and suicide. And the flood of fentanyl into the US shows no signs of abating. In view of this rising ride, the Biden administration has embraced a range of new policies focused on harm reduction and treatment, two historically overlooked areas of American drug control efforts.

Since President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris won’t come to the border, the border is coming to them. On Thursday, two buses of illegal immigrants unloaded in front of Harris’s vice presidential residence. Others have arrived in downtown New York, Chicago, and D.C., to the fury of local mayors and governors. A small planeload caused an uproar on Martha’s Vineyard when it landed on that self-proclaimed sanctuary island. More busloads are sure to come, probably in cities like Philadelphia, Boston, Minneapolis, and perhaps a beach community in Delaware. The immigrants are being transported from Republican-led border states to northern Democratic enclaves, which have long proclaimed themselves “sanctuaries” for the migrants they are now so appalled to find arriving.

As the pandemic accelerated, an epidemic seemed to recede from headlines. But it did not stop. More than 40 states reported an increase in opioid-related deaths, with more than 81,000 between May 2019 and May 2020, the highest one-year death toll ever reported. According to the Centers for Disease Control, one cause stood out: fentanyl overdoses spiked by nearly 40 percent. As a Schedule II controlled-substance, fentanyl is already highly regulated. The drug is several times more powerful than morphine; when used appropriately the pharmaceutical can treat severe pain post-surgery. Unauthorized use — possession, manufacturing, or distribution — is illegal. Synthesized analogue versions of the drug are just as deadly, but can skirt regulation because of chemical differences.