State Laws Are Treating Fentanyl Like the New Crack —And Making the Same Mistakes of the 80s and 90s

Since the U.S. drug war was declared in 1971, various drugs have been identified as public enemy number one—from crack cocaine, in the 1980s, to prescription opioids in the early 2000s. Today, the primary villain is fentanyl, a synthetic opioid about 50 times more potent than heroin. In 2021, more than 71,000 people in the U.S. died after overdoses involving synthetic opioids—mostly fentanyl, according to provisional data released by the National Center for Health Statistics on May 11. Such a deadly drug necessitates a firm public health response, and fortunately, decades of evidence have shown there are tools that can avert overdoses, including the medication naloxone (sold under the brand name Narcan). However, fear of fentanyl and a desire to look proactive are driving many state lawmakers to take approaches which, in the past, have caused more harm than good—namely, punitive policies which lock up drug dealers and users alike for lengthy periods of time, and contribute to mass incarceration. Evidence abounds that such policies are ineffective: for instance, one 2018 analysis from Pew found harsher penalties for drug possession did not reduce use or overdoses, and a 2014 National Research Council report found that increases in successfully prosecuted drug crimes did not clearly drive down drug use, and had a disparate impact on Black and Hispanic communities. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] As opioid and especially fentanyl-related deaths hav...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Addiction healthscienceclimate Source Type: news