Drug Gangs Exploiting the Opioid Epidemic and Addiction Crisis

Drug Gangs Exploiting the Opioid Epidemic and Addiction Crisis

The opioid epidemic in America has wrecked small towns and families across the country. There are heartbreaking stories of Americans getting hooked on prescription painkillers, then turning to heroin when they can’t get pills anymore. These drugs have destroyed lives and left children without parents.

Addiction doesn’t care about politics, income, race, or background – it’s an equal opportunity destroyer. This crisis has affected all of our communities in some way. Last Congress worked in a bipartisan way to pass laws to address the opioid epidemic. But there is still much more work to be done.

The Rise of Illicit Fentanyl

Mexican drug cartels are taking advantage of the opioid crisis in America. They are aggressively buying fentanyl powder from China and turning it into fake prescription pills or mixing it with heroin. Sadly, this has caused fentanyl overdoses to skyrocket over the past few years.

Fentanyl is an incredibly potent synthetic opioid, up to 100 times stronger than morphine. Just a couple milligrams can be lethal. Drug cartels mix fentanyl into pills to make their product more potent and addictive. But inconsistent mixing leads to deadly “hot spots” in batches of pills or heroin.

The cartels are exploiting addiction for profit, regardless of the lives lost. They are fueling the crisis by flooding the illicit drug market with dangerous, deadly fentanyl.

Racial Disparities in the “War on Drugs”

The War on Drugs has had a profound role in reinforcing racial hierarchies in America. Although Black Americans are no more likely than Whites to use illicit drugs, they are much more likely to be arrested and incarcerated for drug offenses.

These racial disparities are evident at every level of the criminal justice system:

• Black people are more likely to be stopped, searched, and arrested by police for drug crimes.
• They face harsher charges and sentencing for the same drug offenses as White people.
• Black Americans are vastly overrepresented in prisons for drug offenses.

The media has perpetuated stereotypes of urban Black “crack addicts” and “drug gangs” that link drugs and crime to communities of color. But the current opioid crisis demonstrates that addiction impacts all races and backgrounds.

Law Enforcement Strategies

Law enforcement plays a crucial role in combating the supply of illicit opioids. Strategies include:

• Increased border security and customs inspections to stop fentanyl imports.
• Targeting major drug trafficking networks with RICO and conspiracy charges.
• Collaborating with China and Mexico to reduce production of fentanyl and precursor chemicals.
• Cracking down on dark web marketplaces selling illicit opioids.
• Community policing programs to build trust and cooperation fighting local drug gangs.

However, we cannot arrest our way out of this epidemic. Enforcement needs to go hand in hand with public health strategies to reduce demand and provide treatment.

A Public Health Approach

Along with supply-focused law enforcement, we need public health strategies like:

• Improving access to medication-assisted treatment with methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone.
• Increasing naloxone distribution and training for overdose reversal.
• Removing barriers to mental health services and addiction treatment programs.
• Raising awareness and reducing stigma around addiction as a disease.
• Cracking down on overprescribing while ensuring compassionate care for pain patients.
• Expanding harm reduction services like needle exchanges and safe injection sites.

A comprehensive approach addresses both the supply of and demand for drugs. It recognizes addiction as a chronic medical condition, not a moral failing. We need a large-scale public health response, not just criminalization and incarceration.

The Path Forward

With bipartisan cooperation, we’ve made progress addressing this epidemic. But there is much more work to be done. Lives are on the line. We need a continued focus on:

• Increasing access to medication-assisted treatment and naloxone.
• Expanding drug courts and diversion programs to get people help, not just jail.
• Improving prescriber education and monitoring prescription drug databases.
• Reducing disparities in drug enforcement and sentencing.
• Increasing funding for public health and treatment programs.

With persistence and compassion, we can turn the tide against this epidemic. But it will require collaboration between public health experts, law enforcement, policy makers, and community leaders. There are no quick fixes. We need sustained commitment to save lives and rebuild stronger, healthier communities.

References

[1] “Fentanyl: The Next Wave of the Opioid Crisis.” U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, 21 Mar. 2017, www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-115hhrg25507/html/CHRG-115hhrg25507.htm.

[2] “Evidence on Strategies for Addressing the Opioid Epidemic.” Pain Management and the Opioid Epidemic: Balancing Societal and Individual Benefits and Risks of Prescription Opioid Use, edited by Adriane Fugh-Berman et al., National Academies Press, 2017, p. 437, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK458653/.

[3] “2020 National Drug Threat Assessment.” Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Department of Justice, Mar. 2021, p. vii, www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2021-02/DIR-008-21%202020%20National%20Drug%20Threat%20Assessment_WEB.pdf.

[4] Netherland, Julie, and Helena B. Hansen. “White Opioids: Pharmaceutical Race and the War on Drugs That Wasn’t.” BioSocieties, vol. 12, no. 2, June 2017, pp. 217–238, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5501419/.

[5] “Policing on the Front Lines of the Opioid Crisis.” Police Executive Research Forum, Apr. 2019, p. 2, www.policeforum.org/assets/PolicingOpioidCrisis.pdf.

[6] “World Drug Report 2018 – Booklet 4: Drugs and Associated Issues among Young People and Older People.” United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2018, p. 7, www.unodc.org/wdr2018/prelaunch/WDR18_Booklet_4_YOUTH.pdf.