The New York Times recently reported that drug-related deaths have skyrocketed under the Biden-Harris administration, highlighting the need for improved border security. This issue is particularly significant as Vice President Kamala Harris plans to visit Arizona on Friday to survey the southern border invasion, which is contributing to the drug-related death epidemic.
According to data from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), drug overdose deaths have increased since 2019, with 107,941 reported in 2022. The Times’ Maia Szalavitz urged readers to focus on the drivers of demand for these drugs instead of supply, as she highlighted that more than 70,000 Americans died from taking drug mixtures containing fentanyl or other synthetic opioids in 2021 alone.
Addressing this problem is difficult due to several factors. Fentanyl and other synthetic opioids are much cheaper and easier to produce compared to heroin. For instance, producing heroin requires many acres of land for poppy cultivation, numerous farmers and laborers, multiple secure processing plants, and a substantial number of guards and smugglers. Conversely, fentanyl can be manufactured in a lab by a few chemists using commercially available substances, making it easier to distribute through the mail.
Moreover, the small size and weight of fentanyl compared to heroin make it nearly impossible for authorities to effectively interrupt its supply at the border. During her visit to the southern border invasion, Harris will announce new plans to create detection machines for fentanyl at border entry ports, raising questions as to why she does not direct DHS to implement this idea immediately.
Fox News polling from Thursday revealed that more Arizona voters trust former President Donald Trump over Harris to handle the border crisis (with a 15-point lead. In fact, Trump leads Harris overall by 3 percentage points among likely Arizona voters (51-48 percent. Trump has promised to implement the death penalty for drug traffickers and smugglers, impose a total naval embargo on cartels, and demand that the U.S. military “inflict maximum damage on cartel leadership and operations” by designating cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.
This move would effectively choke off their access to the global financial system, thereby helping to curb drug-related deaths in America. With drug-related deaths on the rise, it is clear that a new approach is needed to address this deadly epidemic and protect American lives.